Falling into Fruits Baskets
by Kimiko Karakura
Summary: A thick fog appears out of a Fruits Basket manga. What will happen when it pulls two best friends, Jessica Smith and Casey Jones into it? Will the girls finally get to live out their Fruits Basket dreams, or just watch from afar? who will fall in love with who? And also... Why does this Summery have so many questions? well, maybe it's cause the writer sucks at summeries. Enjoy
1. Falling into Fruits Baskets

I had finally finished reading all of my favorite manga; Fruits Baskets. My friend Casey and I had become really big fans of it ever since it came out. We had: Kyo T-shirts and jackets, a Momiji rabbit backpack, and a pair of Yuki flip-flops. Out of all the characters Kyo was my favorite though. I know it might sound a little weird to have a crush on a fictional character but hey, I couldn't help it! I was just about to start reading something else when I heard a knock at my door. "Come in," I said. My friend Casey walked in with something in her hands. "Guess what I got!" she shouted. "What?" I asked, even though I already had a pretty good idea what it was. "I got you a Kyo bracelet," she said happily. "Cool. Anyways, since you're spending the night, I was wondering if you wanted to sleep on the roof like in Fruits Baskets. Come on it'll be fun!" I exclaimed. "No way am I going to sleep on the roof! What if we fall?" she whined. "Oh and I haven't finished reading the last chapter in Fruits Baskets yet and I left my book at my house. Can I borrow yours?" "Here," I threw the book at her. I was pretty disappointed Casey didn't want to sleep on the roof. She usually loves to do crazy things like that with me. "Um… Jess. Something weird is happening to your book!" She yelled. I looked over to her and saw a black fog coming out of my book. It seemed to be filling up my room. Suddenly I couldn't see anything so I just screamed. Then all of a sudden I fall out of my bed and land on the floor. But when I look around, I'm not in my room! I'm sitting in front of what looks to be like Yuki and Shigures' home with Casey.

"_**AHHHH**_!" we both scream. Shigure comes out to see what's going on. "What happened? Are you two okay?" he asked with concern. I didn't really know what to say. I was in shock, I mean, who wouldn't be? That's when Casey decided to step in and say something. "Um… well… we don't really know what happened we just woke up here. Where are we?" she asked. She obviously knew where we were so I don't know why she's lying. "Oh, well do you know how to get home?" he asked. "No. for some reason I can't remember where my house is," She replied. "What's she up to?" I thought to myself. "Well I guess I could let you two stay here. We've needed a flower around the house. Two flowers would be even better!" suddenly a bag came up from behind him and hit him in the head. Yuki Sohma. "Stop bothering them. I'm sorry did my perverted cousin do anything to you ladies?" he turned to us and asked. "N-No. He didn't do anything to us." I said. "Oh so she talks," joked Shigure. I turned to look at him and managed to say, "Thank you sir, but we couldn't possibly stay here. Besides, you don't even know our names." "Okay well I am Shigure Sohma and this is Yuki Sohma. What are your names?" he questioned. "I am Casey Jones and this is my friend Jessica Smith. But you can call her Jess." She replied. "Great! Now that that's settled, you can live here." exclaimed Shigure. After that Yuki left for school and Shigure let us come in and pulled out two beds for us in a room. I turned to look at Casey and say, "What are you doing? We are going to get caught and then Hitori will erase our minds. _**Then how will we get out of the manga**_?" I yelled/whispered. "Calm down. You worry too much! We will be fine. By the way why didn't Tohru come?" said Casey. "Oh, this is bad! Really bad! What if Tohru never meets the Sohmas? We can't fill her shoes. I would ever say anything she usually comes up with to make everyone feel better. What are we going to do?" I shout. "Calm down. We'll just have to catch her tonight at her tent…. Remember?" she points out, as if obvious.

3rd person POV

The day passed by quickly for everyone except Casey and Jess. They had been waiting all day for this moment and now it was here. **1****st**** person POV**. They had just finished eating out when they came across Tohru Honda. "Let's follow her," I whisper. As we follow her, Shigure and Yuki notice her crawl into a yellow tent. We wait for her to come out and when she finally does, she's staring all wide-eyed at us. We all walk back home (including Tohru). "HAHAHAHAHAHA," laughs Shigure. "Stop laughing Shigure-san," I say. Even though I said stop laughing it didn't really make him stop. And then Tohru proceeds to tell the story of why she's living in a tent but I'm not really listening. It's not like I don't care it's just… well, I've already heard the story. After telling the story she faints. "I'll let her sleep in my bed," I say. "That would be a good idea," says Yuki. "Why don't we let her live here? We can't just let her live in that tent can we?" exclaimed Casey. "No I suppose not," says Shigure. "So you finally stopped laughing," hissed Yuki. Then Shigure whispers to Yuki and Yuki nods. "I'll go collect her things from the tent," says Yuki. "I'll help," I reply. "No maybe you should just get some rest," whispered Shigure. As Yuki goes to collect Tohrus' stuff, we head off to bed. But I decided to sleep on the roof. That way I'll probably get to meet Kyo tomorrow morning.

**Listen, i know the 1st chapter kind of sucks, but please keep reading. Personally, I think the story gets better as it progresses. Please review and keep reading :)**


	2. The Sohma Family is Totally Cursed!

**Falling into Fruits Baskets chapter 2: The Sohma Family is totally cursed!** I awoke to a startle to find an orange haired boy staring at me. It was Kyo! Suddenly we both fell through the ceiling and landed with a crash. My fall wasn't as hard as Kyos for some reason. I looked under me and saw Tohru. "I am so sorry Tohru!" I cry. "I had no idea you were right there."

"It's okay. By the way, I forgot to ask your name last night. Would you mind telling me your name?" she asked. "Oh, my name is Jessica Smith. You can call me Jess or Jessie though," I reply. I was just about to start getting to know Tohru better when all of a sudden I hear, "Where is he? Where is that stupid rat Yuki?" Tohru and I turn to look at each other in confusion. Well, mine was obviously fake confusion. "You stupid cat, you ruined the roof and are scaring the guests. What do you want?" snapped Yuki.

"I'm gonna kick your ass Yuki! There's no way you can beat me now I've train for three whole months up in the mountains," Shouted Kyo. Just then Shigure walked in and asked, "What's going on?" then looked at the roof then Kyo and then me. "Kyo, you've been missing for three whole months. Akito is not happy. And just look what you've done to my roof! And on top of all that, you're scaring Tohru-chan and Jessie-chan."

"I'm not scared," I corrected. "Neither am I. I was just a little startled when Jessie-chan and Kyo-kun fell from the ceiling," Tohru added. She started walking out the door when all of a sudden the slipped and fell into Kyos arms. Poof! He turned into a cat. "Oh my gosh, he turned into a cat. That's so cool!" I say. Tohru looks shocked and started to back up when she suddenly falls onto Yuki and then Shigure. Poof! Poof! Now there's also a rat and a dog. She quickly picks up Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure follows as we all head down stairs. "We need to get them to a hospital!" screamed Tohru. Just as she opened the door the mail man stood there and said, "Mail for Shigure Sohma." Tohru shouted, "Look! They're animals!"

Shigure then took the letter into his mouth. "Yes. And smart ones too. I wish I had a dog that smart," he replied and shut the door. "Dammit! How am I supposed to come up with an excuse if both of you transform too?" hissed Kyo. "Don't you dare try to blame this on us you stupid cat!" spat Yuki. "GO AHEAD, SAY THAT AGAIN!" yelled Kyo. "Stupid… Cat," Yuki teased. "Why you…." Kyo tried to finish his sentence but was interrupted by Shigure, "Cut it out, both of you! Anyways it's too late for excuses. We might as well tell them the truth," Shigure turned to look at us with his puppy eyes and said," Tohru, Jessica…. I'm a dog, Yuki's a rat, and that's Kyo. He's the cat. Our family has lived with this curse for generations. When we hug someone of opposite gender we change into the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac." Kyo glared at Shigure. "Sorry… I mean the 12 animals and the cat. After a while we change back, but the problem is…." Poof! Poof! Poof! They turned back into People but…" We come back naked." We all ran screaming. **"AHHHH!** Please hurry and put cloths on!" I shouted as I felt my face grow warm.

"So at this point we must seem pretty strange to you three, huh?" Shigure said. "Well, it's not your fault. I mean, you can't help it," I reply. "Although Kyo is the cat, the phrase cat like reflexes doesn't really apply to him. The way he let you fall on him like that. But he is a cat, clumsier than most. Surprisingly really considering all the martial arts training he's had. I'm sure he'd tell you the same thing if he wasn't throwing a tantrum." Laughed Shigure. "Ugh! Would you shut up? I told you, it's not my fault! If you wanna blame someone, then blame them!" Kyo pointed to tohru and me. "They shouldn't even be here!"

"Leave them out of this! Who we choose to allow in this house is none of your concern, you stupid cat! You're the one who doesn't belong here," said Yuki. That made Kyo really mad! He screamed and then smashed the table in two! As soon as he had done that the other half of table flew at me and hit me right on the forehead. Truth is I didn't see that one coming. I thought it was going to hit tohru but instead it hit me! It didn't really even hurt but I got tohru all worried about me. "It's okay. It doesn't even hurt. I'm fine," I reassure. "Still, it would be best to get a Band-Aid on it," said Shigure. I looked at Yuki who was walking towards Kyo. Suddenly Yuki slapped him. "I knew Kyo was reckless, but to act like this…." Shigures voice trailed off as Yuki started to talk, "You're as stupid as ever. And I'm going to prove it by giving you want you want. Only this time, I won't hold back!"

"No Yuki!" shouted Tohru." Don't worry this goes back a lot farther than today. Every time they saw each other they would fight like this. And every time they fought, Yuki won. Which made Kyo hate him even more," Shigure said as he put the Band-Aid on my head. "Oh, and don't worry. It'll be over soon." Just as he said that, Yuki sent Kyo flying right into a rock. "I told you I wouldn't hold back. You wanted to fight me so bad that you ended up hurting Ms. Smith," lectured Yuki. Then Yuki walked over to me with a worried look. "Ms. Smith, are you okay?" he asked. "Oh, I'm fine! Honestly, it doesn't hurt," I looked over at Kyo," But… is he okay?" I pointed to Kyo. "He'll be fine. He just got what he deserved," replied Yuki. After Kyo started to run away, Tohru started to shout, "OH no! I'll be late for school!" Then she looked down at her uniform, "You're going to school? But your uniform is all dirty," stated Shigure. "Can't you be late to school just once? It's only to wash your cloths then you can go to school. Maybe Shigure can give you a note or something," I commented. "No I can't do that. I have to go and I also have to be on time! I promised mom!" argued Tohru.

"Fine, don't let me stop you a promise is a promise," he said with understanding," That reminds me. I'm going to have to tell Akito all about this morning." By looking at our faces he guessed what we were thinking and said, "Akito is the head of our family. We DID just give away the whole Sohma family secret after all," answered Shigure. "That makes sense," I replied.

I'm walked up stairs to go and wake Casey up. "Casey you missed everything! How did you even sleep through me and Kyo falling through the ceiling?" I questioned as she sleepily rubbed her eyes. "Why watch it again? I've already seen AND read it! Wait… why do you have a Band-Aid on your forehead?" she asked. "See, this is why you should've been awake! Now that we're in the story, things are going to be different. The only way things would stay the same is if we didn't talk or do anything. And you and I can't just stop talking. For me to talk is the same thing as breathing; I can't live without it! Oh man, it's going to be so awesome watching Kyo and Tohru fall in love. This time it's live!" I exclaimed. "Or…. You could make Kyo fall in love with you!" she said. "Are you crazy? Then I'd have no idea how the story ends and I'll be put in situations I don't know how to deal with. Besides, what would people think if they found out I decided to make a FICTIONAL character my boyfriend? They would think I'm a total geek!" I said.

"You see, that's your problem. 1) You don't like being out of your comfort zone to take risks and 2) you worry about what others think too much! You need to RELAX!" she pointed out. What she's saying is true; I just don't want to hear it. Everyone tells me the same thing. I just don't like getting hurt, that's all.


	3. Walking home with Kyo and Yuki

**Falling into Fruits Baskets chapter 3: Walking home with Kyo and Yuki**

"You just love to embarrass people! You're only here to make fun of me!" shouted Kyo as he walked into the house. "No, that's not true. True it is fun to watch you be humiliated but this time I HAD to. It's not as if I wanted to," says Shigure as he turns to look at me and Casey, "starting today, Kyo will be living here and attending your school along with Jessica and Casey."

"I can't believe you're letting him stay here and even letting him attend my and Ms. Tohru's high school," hollered Yuki as we three walked to the table so we can eat the food Tohru made. "Wow, I hope you all end up in either my class or Yuki's class!" exclaimed Tohru. The rest of the night was just like any other night at home. Then I realized what I just thought to myself. Home…. I called this house home. What if we never get back to the real world? Will people miss us? I guess I should start considering this house my home if we never get back. The thought kind of makes me sad, but at the same time I'm somewhat happy. I don't know why, but it does. Strange….

_ Scene break _

It was the first day at school. I mean in fruits baskets not in all my life. I opened the door to my classroom and walked to the teacher's desk. Everyone in the class just stared and started whispering and giggling. I can't say I don't know why they were laughing. See, the thing is, I don't do skirts. So I decided to wear the girls' shirt and the boys' pants as my uniform. The teacher looked at me in awe, "Um…. This is Jessica Smith. She is a new student to please treat her kindly," the teacher looked over to me, "Please take a seat next to Tohru." I looked for Tohru in the crowd of boys and girls. Finally in the 4th row 2nd to the window, I found her. She waved at me and smiled widely. That's so like her. As soon as I sit down the door slams open. It's Kyo, and he's really late! "Ah, so our other new student finally decided to show up? Well anyways, this is Kyo Sohma. He is also a new student. Please take care of him," grumbled the teacher. She didn't even have the chance to tell him where to sit. He suddenly just took the seat next to me. "I'll sit here, since there's nowhere else to sit," glared Kyo. The teacher didn't have any objections and just carried on with teaching. A while passed and then it was time for lunch. I looked next to me just to find Kyo in a sea of girls bombarding him with questions like, "Are you really Yuki Sohma's cousin?" and "Are you two really close?" you know, stupid questions idiot stalker girls ask. Then a girl came up behind him and tried to hug him. He quickly grabbed her arm and pinned her to the ground. She screamed and all the girls started talking about what a "total brute" he was. Then he said, "You know what? I don't have to deal with this!" and jumped out the window and started to run. I knew where he was going, so I quickly ran out of the classroom and followed. I came just in time to hug Kyo so he wouldn't fight with Yuki. "You guys shouldn't fight on school grounds. You can get in major trouble," I said.

"SHUT UP! Stop butting in! You're in the way, you're stupid, and I hate you!" Kyo hissed. Even though I knew he didn't really mean those words, they still hurt. They hurt enough to even make me cry. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. You're probably thinking, "Wow she's gonna cry? She's such a cry baby." But sometimes people cry, not because they're weak, but because they've been strong for too long. After he said that I stood up and just ran all the way back home. After a while of sulking I decided to find a job. That would keep me preoccupied for a while, and earn me some cash. Luckily I found a job at a store nearby. It's a small store a couple miles away and the pay is really good.

**3****rd**** person POV**: Kyo came home early when he saw Jessica walking out of the house. She looked a little sad but seemed to be in a daze. He decided now would not be the best time to apologize to her. He walked in the house and somehow started a conversation with that old pervert, Shigure. "I always end up hurting her," Kyo said with a sad face. "Who? You mean Jessie-chan? Yeah, you do tend to hurt her a lot. There are few people who find it impossible to get along with others. But in your case, you just lack experience. For example, you can probably break this table in two with your hand. But you can also stop yourself before you hit the table, right? That's because you can control the strength used to smash the table. Being able to get along with people is the same thing. Without making friends, being hurt and hurting others, you can't learn about who you are and who others are. You can't become a person who cares about others. In order to treasure the person who will someday tell you "she likes you" don't run away and keep training for now." Lectured Shigure. "There's never going to be anyone like that!" griped Kyo. "Well what if there is? What would you do?" asked Shigure. "I'd ask them if they were insane!" replied Kyo. "Oh really?" Shigure questioned. The door swung open to reveal that Tohru and Yuki and Casey were home now. "Where's Jessie-chan?" asked Tohru. "She went to go get a job. She should be coming home soon. I sure hope she doesn't run into any perverts on the way home," replied Shigure. "I'll go walk her home," said Yuki. "No, I'll walk her home," suggested Kyo. As he left to go pick up Jessica, Casey just couldn't help but smile like a total idiot.

_ Scene break _

**Back to 1****st**** person POV. **I was finally done with work and on my way home. After a while of walking I realized that it was such a beautiful night. It made the walk very peaceful. She thought the rest of the walk home would be peaceful but then she heard a nearby bush rustle. "Maybe it's one of those perverts, or kidnappers or maybe even a serial killer I saw on the news! Maybe it's a gang or something….. Or maybe I'm just overreacting. It's probably just a small animal," I thought. But then I heard footsteps. I didn't have much time to think so I just swung my bad behind me. I turned to see who I hit and to my surprise…. It was Kyo. "Oh, I'm sorry! I thought you were a pervert," he gave me a funny look, "Ah… not that I think you're a pervert or anything I just…." He was rubbing his head when he admitted, "I probably deserved it anyways. You can hit me whenever you want, since I yell at you all the time."

"I'm sorry for hitting you. I thought you were a pervert or something. Kyo…. You must have a lot of anger built up inside of you. It's okay to let it out sometimes. But sometimes you let your anger take control of you and hurt others around you. I don't want people to hate you because you yell at them so…. You can yell at me all you want, Kyo," I said. That sounded so much better in my head than it did when I said it. I blushed out of total embarrassment of how stupid I am. He probably thinks I'm a total weirdo for saying that! I look up at him and see that he's blushing. "I…. I'm not going to take anything out on you. I'll try and control my anger. But I'm just a stupid cat, just like Yuki says-"

"You're not a stupid cat!" I interrupt, "Cats are awesome. Most cats are pretty smart too. I really love the cat from the animals of the zodiac! My favorite is the cat then the rabbit and tiger." He looks surprised. "What if there's a person who tells you that she likes you?" Shigures words echoed in Kyos mind. "Well, we should get going. Everyone's going to be worried about you." He said as we walked back home together.

_ Scene break _

It was the next day at school when Tohru suddenly announced "Let's play…. Rich Man Poor Man!"

"Ah, play with that damn Yuki. I don't want to." Kyo mumbled. "Running away from a challenge; what are you, some kind of sissy?" teased Arisa Uotani, one of Tohru's best friends. "I bet 500 yen that Uo-san is going to win!" I shout. Kyo gives me this look like he expected me to be on his side. Sorry buddy but I already know how this is gonna end up. Suddenly a group of boys start crowd around me placing their bets. "Alright, fine! I'll play your stupid game but I'm going to win, stupid Yankee!" yelled Kyo. "Whoever loses has to clean the classroom all by themself." Then Saki Hanajima, Tohru's other best friend, pops out of nowhere and says, "Ahhhhh, aren't those the most wonderful signals?" after a moment of awkward silence, Tohru goes off to find Yuki. After a few turns Kyo says, "Revolution!" Uo-san gives him a glare, "cheater what kind of cheat fast trick are you trying to pull?" Kyo was ticked, "What do you mean? Those are the rules!" he shouted. "Revolution makes all high cards low," I say. "Reverse revolution!" shouts Hana-san. Everyone's in shock, except me of course. By the end of the game Kyo had lost and had to clean the room. I offered to help but he turned me down. He said a deals a deal and he lost. Whatever, more work for you then. "Hmmm. Rich man poor man? I know the rules but no one's ever asked me to play," said Yuki.

"Uo-san just taught me how to play not too long ago. It really is a lot of fun!" exclaimed Tohru. "Yuki, next time you should play. We would've asked you today but we couldn't find you," I said. "Yeah…. So it looks like Kyo was the loser today," Yuki laughed. This made Kyo even angrier.

_Scene break_

I was gathering up my stuff to leave work when I heard, "There's such a cute boy out there. I wonder if he's waiting for someone," from the two girls I worked with. I wondered if it was Yuki because in episode three of fruits basket, Yuki walks Tohru home. But then I thought that can't be true. Why would Yuki walk me home instead of Tohru? It wouldn't make any sense. And besides, he walks Tohru home, NOT me! But sure enough I walk outside and there's Yuki waiting patiently for me. "Hi there Ms. Smith. Are you all finished?" asked Yuki. "Yes, you didn't walk all the way here just to walk me home, did you? The only reason Kyo walked me home last time was because he wanted to apologize. You guys don't have to keep walking all the way here. I can take care of myself. It's just too much to ask of you both to walk me home all the time. Wouldn't you rather walk Tohru home?" I blabbed. "Of course I came here to walk you home. And whether you can take care of yourself or not isn't the issue. You're still a girl and it still isn't safe out for you. Kyo is walking Ms. Honda home by the way. I wish you WOULD trouble me sometimes. If you have any problems you can always come to me. It's no problem to walk you home. I want to," Yuki replied to all of my idiotic questions, "Well, we should be going."

"And Yuki if you ever have any problems you can always tell me," I said as I walked. When I said that he kind of stopped walking for a moment. I turned to look back at him a smiled. "Coming?" I asked. I walked back over to Yuki, "Sorry if I was being nosy. I just think if you tell people about a problem you have, you feel…." I didn't even finish my sentence when suddenly two guys came up behind me and pushed me into Yuki. "Move along you two lovebirds!" they laughed. And in a swift moment, the boy Yuki turned into the rat Yuki. "Don't push people you don't know, idiots!" I yell. I guess I kind of shocked Yuki when I yelled because after I said that I turned to look at him and asked if he was okay. He replied with, "Uhhhhhhhhhm…."

"Anyways, sorry I made you turn into a rat." He looked at me with his little eyes closed shut in embarrassment and said, "Don't be. I'm the one who's cursed." I picked up his cloths and we started to walk when he finally started talking. "Akito basically isolated me from almost everyone. But I wanted a different life. I wanted to live like a normal kid, going to a normal school with other normal I did. Akito allowed me to move in with Shigure. At first I wonder why he did that. Then I found my answer. Leaving the house is easy but leaving my curse is impossible. No matter much how hard I try and hide it, the fact that I'm a Sohma still remains. I'm different. And what scares me is that if I get too close to someone they'll realize it too. Unlike Kyo, who is shy at first but once others get to know him, he opens up. Because he's the cat he can never be accepted by the other zodiac members. But because he can't be accepted by us, he can be accepted by normal people. That's what I've always wanted. That's why I hate him so much. Because he's so blind he can't even see what he has in front of him is so wonderful."

"Don't take this the wrong way but, in my opinion you both are blind." He looks at me in confusion. "Yuki, you are accepted by everyone! You do realize you're the most popular boy at school right? You just don't feel accepted because you are too scared others will find out you different from them." I say. He looks at me and says, "They only accept me because I'm nice to them. But that's not me. I'm not nice I'm selfish." I roll my eyes and start talking like I'm stating the obvious, "Then don't be nice. Be your selfish self! You have to be yourself for others to accept you. You and Kyo want the same exact thing. You both want acceptance. And look at this from Kyo's point of view. He is treated differently by the very same people who share the same blood as he does. If there were no curse, would you still try to run away from your family? You shouldn't say you want to run away from it. I don't think you need to be accepted by others. I think you need to accept yourself," I'm finally done talking when I hear thunder. It starts to rain. "I didn't bring an umbrella. That sucks." I say. I lean over to pick Yuki up when all of a sudden he transforms back into a guy. I quickly hand him his cloths and turn around while my face grows warmer. "This is bad," I hear him say. "Yeah, you should probably hurry up and put your clothes on before someone sees you," I reply. "That's not what I'm talking about," he says.

We run back home so we don't catch colds. We finally arrive home when Yuki yells over the thunder, "Go ahead inside without me. I have to do something." Then I remember what he was going to do. This is the part where he and Tohru head out to Yuki's secret garden to protect it from rain. So instead of doing as told, I followed him. He turned around and gave me a look. "I'll help you with whatever you're doing. That way it will go faster," I say. So he leads me to his small garden and I say, "Wow, I can't believe you did all this. I would've never been able to do that." I turn to look at him. He's holding a big blue sheet of tarp. "I call this place my secret base," I barely hear him. "Because it's a place where you can escape?" I ask. He nods as he holds the sheet down. "Alright, I'll help you protect your "secret base." I say. He looks at me and smiles, "Ms. Smith, you're a saint!"

"I'd really like it if you called me Jessie-chan instead. By the way Yuki, it's okay if you're selfish. Everyone's selfish at some point in their life. When we start out all we do is want but along the way we learn how to be kind. True kindness isn't something we're born with. It's something we have to work out. We have to mold it and shape it within ourselves. Not everyone has it but everyone has the potential. Sometimes you just have to look really close before you can tell it's there. I heard those words from a very kind person," I said. I looked at the expression on his face and then after a few seconds I laughed; "Now you're looking at me like I'm crazy or something. I can't really blame you because I guess I am a bit crazy sometimes." He stopped staring and then looked down, "No I didn't mean to make you think that it's just….. I've never had a conversation like this with anyone before."

"But it really is a good thing that you can share your feelings with me. When you're comfortable enough where you can share your feelings with another person, that's a good sign that you're getting to be closer friends. And I'm glad we're becoming closer of friends Yuki!" I gave him a smile. I truly was happy we were becoming friends. So happy I even started to cry out of joy. Yuki must have seen because he asked if I was okay. "I'm okay. I'm just happy, that's all." I replied. After about a few minutes the rain stopped. "Yay! We protected your garden!" I shouted. "Ms. Smith- uh I mean Jessie-chan, next time you play rich man poor man, ill you invite me to play?" he asked.

"Of course! I beat you'll beat Kyo, Uo-san **AND** Hana-san." That made him smile. But this smile was different from all the others. I think this was his real smile. "Yuki, you should smile like that more often. Because it's a really great smile!" I said. I guess that must've embarrassed him because he started to blush. We picked some of the crops Yuki had planted. We picked carrots, beets, and leeks. I can't wait for Kyo to get a mouth full of leek!

_ Scene break _

It was dinner time and I had asked Tohru to make some kind of dish with leek in it. Kyo's face was priceless! "Are you crazy? I hate leeks! I am **NOT** going to eat this!" Kyo roared. Casey sat beside me and laughed. "Stop laughing!" he yelled. "Kyo I thought you were a cat, not a chicken! Don't yell at Tohru for making you dinner. If you don't like it maybe you should make our food from now on." I laughed. "No way am I making you food! And I am not a chicken!" he said. "You're right… you're a baby. Would you like me to feed it to you as well?" I say. Casey leans over and dares me to grabs the chopsticks, pick up some leeks and put it in his mouth. So I do just exactly that. "What are you doing?" Kyo asks. "Duh I'm making you eat your vegies so you can grow up already!" I say as if obvious. As soon as the leek is in his mouth he faints. The rest of the night went on as usual. But just as Yuki was about to go to bed I told him, "By the way Yuki, I wanted to tell you that nobody is normal. Everyone is a little weird and a little different. If you're even more different then that just makes you more special." He smiles and walks off to his room. Casey, Tohru, Shigure and now Yuki are all in their beds. Kyo's still passed out with leek in his mouth. I decide to sleep on the roof again. It's just more peaceful than any bed I'd ever slept on.


	4. Kagura&the heart that beats only for Kyo

Falling into Fruits Baskets chapter 4: Kagura and the heart that beats only for Kyo!

It was a Saturday afternoon, maybe around 1:00 pm, when we heard a rumbling sound. It sounded like one of those earthquakes you see in the movies. "She's here earlier than we expected," announced Shigure. "You were expecting someone over? Who is it?" questioned Tohru. Kyo screamed and tried to run away. I grabbed him by his jacket and asked, "Why are you running away? You have to help us greet whoever is coming." I held back a laugh of how frantic Kyo was trying to get away as we walked to the door. It was open. I saw a hand peeking from behind the cracked door. "Hello? I can see your hand, you don't have to hide," I say. Then a girl with a green shirt and a cat backpack that looked handmade. It was Kagura Sohma. She's one of the zodiac animals. She's the boar. "Are you…. Jessica Smith?" Kagura asked.

"Yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you!" I exclaim. She looked at me with the cutest and shyest expression I've ever seen and replied, "Well, that's, um…. I'm Kagura Sohma. That's my name, Kagura. Please tell me if it's true. Is it true Kyo is here? Is he really back?" I looked to my hand and realized I had let go of Kyo. Luckily Shigure grabbed him before he had the chance to run away. "Yea he's here. Would you like to come in and see him?" she looked to him with her adorable childlike gaze. "Kyo?" she said. "Kagura!" Kyo yelled out of fear. Kagura looked as if she was about to cry. Her hands went up to cover her mouth when she said, "I don't believe it. It's really you." She said as she ran to him screaming his name over and over again. Wow, this is a lot more entertaining when I'm actually in the story. "Kyo, why did you run away for so long? I've missed you so much! You didn't call me or send a card. Where were you? I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" she yelled when she suddenly punch him in the face. This was amazing! I'm so glad I fell into Fruits Basket. It's so much better than watching it on the computer or reading it from the manga. I looked over to Tohru who didn't seem to be having as much fun as I was. In fact she looked shocked or startled. "You had me worried sick!" yelled Kagura as she spun him by his legs, which ended up with the wall getting torn down. Yuki then mumbled something I couldn't really hear. "It's like the whole world is conspiring to ruin my house," Shigure said to himself. "I'm sorry. Should I have asked you if she could come in?" I asked.

"Oh, I was just kidding. This is just how Kagura shows her affections for people," replied Shigure. Tohru looks extremely shocked. The only ones who are taking this as normal are me, Yuki, and Shigure. Kyo and Kagura are fighting, Tohru is shocked, and Casey is just sitting there laughing her butt off. She was laughing so hard she started to cry. "I never would've guessed. She seemed like such a sweet little girl. From the looks of it she must really like Kyo a lot!" replied Tohru. Yuki then joins in on the conversation, "Kagura does tend to get a little carried away with her emotions. That's especially when she's around Kyo," he says.

"Well I think that's sweet. She loves him so much she can't contain her happiness. So she shows just how much she loves him by beating him up. Even though that's different from how most people show their affection, I still think it's sweet. Especially how Kyo is just letter her beat him up. They must really be in love!" I exclaim. Yuki looks at me and laughs, "He's not letting her beat him up. He's just not strong enough to make her stop. And you might not believe it but she's two years older than us!" Even though I already knew that, I had to say something! If I didn't say anything or do anything I feel that I might just be watching the show from a distance. I don't want that. I want to laugh and cry alongside everyone else. I never actually thought I'd start to enjoy their company. "And she's also one of the 12 zodiac animals," Shigure piped in. "Oh, that's great! Which one is she?" asked Tohru. "I think she's the boar," I said. "How did you know?" asked Shigure. Uh-oh….. I had no idea what to tell them. Maybe if I told them that she just seemed like a boar kind of girl that would work. "Well, that was just my first guess. My second guess was the snake. It was just a guess," I replied. To my surprise they didn't wonder about it anymore. Kagura finally stopped hitting Kyo when he hit the ground for the 50th time. "Kyo," gasped Kagura, "Darling, what happened your hurt! Oh no, no! Speak to me Kyo! Who did this to you?!" I laughed, "Um, I think it was you, Kagura."

_Scene brake_

Now that the fighting was over we all gathered at the table as Tohru poured us all tea. "It's really cold in here. Just an hour ago it was really hot but no it's cold!" I said "Don't be a baby," laughed Casey. I hate the cold! When it got cold at my house, my mother wouldn't let me leave until I wore this really dorky coat. It was huge! I got laughed at by everyone at school. I usually act like I don't give a damn about what people think of me, but on cold days I lose the strength to act tough. I seriously hate the cold! "I'm sorry everyone. But when I saw Kyo, all my love just came out at once. I couldn't help it!" cried Kagura. She really did look as though she would cry this time. "AWWWWWW! It's okay Kagura, I forgive you! You're sooooo adorable; I can't believe you're two whole years older than us. And it is somewhat of Kyos fault too," I turned to look at him, "If you would've just remembered to called her or sent her a letter, this might not have happened." He turned to look at me while pressing an ice pack against his face, "Who says I forgot? Maybe I just didn't want to do any of that!"

"Why wouldn't you want to call? You love each other!" I say with a huge smile. Although in the book Kyo falls for Tohru I still like the pairing of KyoxKagura way better. It's because she's loved him since they were kids. How romantic! "She's right you know. You would never NOT call me on purpose. We are getting married after all," she announced. Kyos face was a mixture of anger and shock, "Since when?!" hissed Kyo. "You mean you don't remember when you proposed to me when we were little?" asked Kagura. "That's only because you threatened—" Kyo was in the middle of his sentence but I interrupted. "You two have been planning on getting married since you were children? How romantic! Childhood friends falling in love! It's like something from a manga! You two are going to be together forever!" I know that they weren't really going to get married or that Kyo was actually going to fall in love with her. But maybe if I said they loved each other enough it would come true. Maybe I could change the story. That way Tohru ends up with Yuki and Kagura ends up with Kyo. That way they'd all be happy. Now that I've grown closer to them, I want them all to be happy. I wish that everything would go fine that way they'd never have to endure any more hardships than they already had. But that might be impossible. In fact, that IS impossible, because life can be cruel. But that's just how it is. My thoughts where interrupted when Tohru exclaimed," Wow, so you two are engaged? That's so amazing!" Yuki looks at me with curious eyes and says, "At least he'll have someone else to fight instead of me," while he eats a potato chip. He stares at me for a long time. I begin to wonder if there's something on my face. Usually when people have eyes contact with me for more than 10 seconds and aren't talking I start thinking something's wrong. After a while he stops. "Congratulations you two," says Shigure.

"You guys do something!" yells Kyo. Kagura pops up behind him. "We do make the best couple since we're both part of the zodiac. Well, Kyo's not officially part of the zodiac but he's still cursed so it's almost the same. And we can understand each other in a way no one else possibly could, so that's good too. But the best thing is, is that we can hug each other all we want and we won't transform. See?" Kagura demonstrates by hugging Kyo and Yuki, "It's okay for zodiac members to hug." When Kagura stops hugging Yuki she runs past Tohru, Shigure and me to stop right in front of Kyo. "Be honest with me Kyo. Do you love me? Do you hate me? Because I love you, I do more than anything else in the whole wide world! I can prove it by cooking and cleaning for you. I'll do anything for you Kyo! I'll love you even if you cheat on me, I can forgive a one-time fling. There isn't anyone else who loves you this much, do they? NO! We should always be together, don't you think? I JUST TOLD YOU WHAT YOU THINK, NOW SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT!" asks Kagura. He looks over to me. His eyes say, "Help me!" but I'm not going to step in and pretend to become a rival for Kagura. So instead I turn to Tohru and say, "Isn't the year of the cat you favorite out of all zodiac animals Tohru?" I knew how it would turn out so it's not like I'm sacrificing Tohru to be killed or anything. "Yep, that's me!" she said happily.

"A rival!" gasped Kagura, "But I'm not going to lose! Tohru what do you like best about Kyo? I like everything! The good things, the bad things, I like them all! No matter what! Even if he changes into his other fo-"Kyos hand clasped around Kagura's mouth so she couldn't continue talking. "Shut your mouth right now… or I'll-"he was also interrupted, but this time it was Kagura who interrupted HIM. She grabs him by the arm and pushes him to the ground. She puts her feet on his back and pulls his arm, "You'll do what exactly?!" screams Kagura. I'm actually kind of getting bored watching them fight. I decide to go do the laundry. I had 6 baskets full of clothes. I had Yukis clothes, Shigures, Kyos, Tohrus, Casey's and mine. I started walking towards the laundry room when Yuki started to kind of follow me. "Where are you going?" asked Yuki. I wonder why he's been acting strange around me today. "I'm just going to go do the laundry," I reply. Kagura looks at me and repeats, "Laundry?!"

_Scene brake_

I was taking out Yukis clothes and about to put them in the dryer. Kagura popped out from behind the door, "Those aren't Kyo's clothes are they?" she asked. To be honest, she was starting to creep me out. "Eh, no…. these are Yuki's. That's Kyo's clothes over there," I pointed to the basket in the corner. I'll let her wash Kyo's clothes when she asks. But I'll stay and make sure she doesn't put too much detergent in like she did in the show. "Can I do his laundry?" she finally asks. "Sure. You know, I think it's sweet how you want to take of him so much. You must really love him. He should be thankful. It's really hard to find a person who loves another person for so long. Your devotion to him is so amazing. I hope one day I can be like you," I reply. I didn't just say that to be nice. One day I want to find someone I love who will love me the same way. I want our love to be so strong that we can overcome any obstacle. I know it sounds cheesy but that's just how I feel about love. Kagura looked at me and blushed with embarrassment, "Do you really mean that?"

"Of course I do," I reply. After that I help her put Kyo's clothes in the washer. I tell her exactly how many scoops of detergent to put in. "All right I have to go now. I'm going to go to the store to pick up some food for dinner. I'll see you later," I say. She looks fine and since I already told her exactly how to do the laundry I don't think anything will go wrong. I have my bag and I'm about to walk out of the house when I run into Yuki. "Jessi-san are you still going to the store?" he asks. I smile at him and reply,"Yea, I was just leaving. Do you want to come with me?"

_Scene brake_

Yuki and I are walking to the store for stuff for dinner. I don't know why we don't just use the stuff from his garden. It takes about 5 minutes to get to the store from our house. I notice Yuki is staring at me again. "Uhm…. Yuki is everything okay?" I ask. Maybe he didn't mean to stare at me. Maybe it was like one of those moments when you're in deep thought and then you realize you've been staring at someone for a long time. "I should be the one asking that," he replied. I have no idea what he meant. I've been fine the whole day and haven't done anything out of the ordinary… I think. "What do you mean?" I ask.

"Well for one you aren't usually one to act really girly. Remember when you were talking to Kagura about her and Kyo being together "forever"? And then after you were done talking you had a pained look on your face for a while. At least that is until you noticed me staring at you," he said as he blushed a little. Then I remembered why I would have a "pained look" on my face after done talking. "When it comes to the topic called love I do act girly. But that's the only time I will act girly…. I think. And, well even though I said they're going to be together forever, I don't really think that. It seems Kyo doesn't like her that way. But I thought maybe if I said it, then it would come true. I just feel kind of sorry for Kagura. She's loved him since they were kids but he doesn't feel the same way. And…. And…" I couldn't finish my sentence. I was crying and didn't even realize it until Yuki held my face and looked me in the eyed. "Jessi-san, why are you crying?" he asked. After a moment of crying I finally managed to say, "I just want everyone to end up happy. I want you, Kyo, Kagura, Tohru and Shigure to end up happy. But Kagura can't be happy unless she's with Kyo. I must look pretty ridiculous right now, huh?" I say as he lets go and I wipe my tears away. "You don't look ridiculous at all, Jessi-san! You care for others and that's what's really amazing about you. But I just want you to know that even if Kyo never falls for Kagura, that doesn't mean she'll never be happy. She CAN be happy without that stupid cat! So don't worry about it so much," he reassured me. After he said what he said I couldn't help but smile. "You're right Yuki. You guys don't need a boyfriend or girlfriend to be happy. If you have good friends and family to support you, then it'll be alright. They'll still be happy. Thanks Yuki," I laugh. He flashes me one of his real amazing smiles. I can't help but giggle.

_Scene brake_

Yuki and I have finally come back from shopping to find the kitchen burnt and the laundry room full of bubbles. It turns out that, after I left Kagura put more detergent into the washing machine even though I had told her not to. And of course she also decided to make some tea while trying to dry some of Kyo's clothes. "This is exactly what I wanted to avoid," I mumble. "What?" Yuki asked. Darn it I did it again! I need to stop saying what I'm thinking. "I meant the washing machine part. I told Kagura to only put on a specific amount of detergent because she didn't really look like she knew what she was doing. I didn't want her to put too much detergent and have this happen," I pointed to the laundry room. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen," Kagura said. But from my point of view it also looked kind of funny. Shigure, Kyo, and Kagura were covered in white. "YOU STILL DID IT!" yelled Kyo to Kagura. Kagura looked like she was about to cry. I couldn't take that. I really didn't want Kagura to cry. Even though it ended up in a bad situation for her, she did what she did all for Kyo. It was all for him and he didn't even seem to care. That really made me mad. "She did it all for you, you know," Everyone looked at me, "Everything she did was because she wanted you to love her. Even though it ended up like this…. It was all for you! And yet you don't even seem to care. Everything she does to try and make you happy just seems to make you mad at her. Why is that?!" At this point I'm screaming. I didn't even realize it until Casey came in and shouted, "Hey, stop shouting! I'm trying to sleep!" and then she walks back upstairs to sleep. I also didn't realize that once again I was crying, until I stormed out of the house and the cold wind hit my face. Since my face was wet from crying, it made it even colder outside.

_3rd Person Point of View! :D _

Tohru walked into the kitchen. Her face filled with shock. "What happened?" she asked.

"Well, it's Kind of a long story," replied Shigure.

"That's okay. I think I can guess what happened. I'll help," Said Tohru.

"I can do it all by myself," Mumbled Kagura.

"But it's too much work for just you alone," replied Tohru, "Let me help you.

"No, please! I want to do it by myself! It's my entire fault the kitchen's like this and I should take responsibility for it," shouted Kagura.

"Don't take it personal Tohru. She wouldn't let me help either," said Shigure.

Yuki, Shigure and Tohru walked out of the kitchen and sat at the table. "Where's Jessi-san, Casey-san and Kyo-kun?" asked Tohru.

"Well, Casey-san is sleeping (as usual), Kyo-kun's on the roof (as usual), and Jessi-san has stormed off,"

"Is it okay to leave Jessi-san out there in the cold? What if something happens to her?" asked Tohru.

"I never thought of that happening," Yuki thought to himself. "I'll go look for her," replied Yuki.

Yuki walked out the front door as he yelled, "Miss Honda, if you don't mind please call for takeout. It looks like we won't be having a home cooked meal tonight.

_Back to 1st Person Point of View! :D _

I was sitting on the swing at a nearby park. I can't believe I stormed out like that. How embarrassing! And I actually cried in front of everyone. That's even more embarrassing. They must think I'm some kind of sissy now. I was okay when people thought I was a cross dresser. I was okay when I realized I might never get home. Yet I wasn't okay when Kyo wasn't happy with Kagura. It isn't even my business. I'm such an idiot. I feel a pair of eyes staring at the back of my head. I'm so annoyed with how I acted I don't even want to deal with whoever is staring at me. Suddenly an arm reaches out to grab my shoulder. These hands kind of feel familiar. "Yuki?" I say. I turn to find not a dark grey haired boy, but to find a boy with orange hair and red eyes. "Don't confuse me with that stupid rat," he hissed. I was kind of shocked. I would've never pictured Kyo coming to find me. He seemed to be reading my thoughts when he said, "Yuki WAS going to come find you but I insisted on coming instead." I don't know why but it kind of made me happy that Kyo INSISTED on coming to find me. He sat in the swing next to me and said, "I'm sorry. I promised you that I would try and control my anger and I failed. So please don't hate me."

I'm such an idiot. I yelled at him and now he thinks I hate him. I could never hate him. "Kyo I don't hate you. And you losing your temper isn't what I yelled at you about. I yelled at you because you were insensitive towards Kagura. She tried to wash your clothes and tried to make you tea because she loves you. I just didn't want her to be yelled at for loving you. Beating you up and doing things like making tea and cleaning are ways she shows she loves you. She was just trying to love you," I start to cry a little again. I don't understand why I'm so emotional today. Kyo notices I'm crying and grabs my face. He looks into my eyes as he wipes away my tears. Not only am I am emotional today, but I am also getting my face held a lot too. Today's just one of those weird days. "You're right. I shouldn't be insensitive towards how Kagura feels. It's just I don't feel the same way and I don't know how to deal with her feelings for me. I'm sorry," he replies.

He lets go of my face and I can tell he's feeling embarrassed he did such a thing because his face turns many shades of pink. "Let's go home," I laugh.

_Scene brake_

As Kyo and I walk up to the front entrance to the house we notice Kagura and Tohru patching up the door and chatting. We decide it's best if we climb up into a window on the side of the house. Looks like everyone has eaten except us. We grab our food and quickly eat the cold, yet still good, food and head to bed. Today was an emotional roller coaster. I'd be more than happy to go to sleep and put it all behind me. I drift off to sleep as I ear Tohru and Kagura still chatting from downstairs. I guess I forgot to close the window.

_Scene brake_

I awoke to Kagura holding Kyo and saying, "Kyo, my darling Kyo! Goodbye my love," Wait… she can't leave without telling me goodbye too! I hurry downstairs and almost trip on the very last step. It amazes me how clumsy I can be at times like this! "Wait, you're leaving Kagura? But you didn't stay for very long," I whined. "I know but I should be going. It'll be easier this way," she said.

"Oh and I wanted to say that I think I'm beginning to understand why you like Kyo so much. He does have some good qualities. And the more I learn about these good qualities, the more I want to see him the way you do," I say. Kagura Jumps into the air and tackles Kyo. "Kyo, you two-timer! I'LL KILL YOU!" She shouted. I guess all the commotion woke Casey up so she decided to come down stairs. "I heard what was happening from upstairs since SOMEONE left the window open," Casey eyed me, "I thought she said she would forgive a onetime fling." Kagura kicked him across his face. "I will forgive it. JUST AS SOON AS I KILL HIM!" shouts Kagura. I stop Kagura for a moment. "I think you misunderstood. I meant I hope that I can become like you when it comes to finding good qualities in others," I confirm. "You… want to be… like me? Wow, I don't know what to say. Thanks," she says. She says the rest of her goodbyes and leaves. Once she leaves Kyo turns to Tohru and I and says, "What's with your faces?" we were standing side by side smiling ear to ear. "Kyo's so lucky to have Kagura," said Tohru. "Yea, he's so lucky. He should have kissed her goodbye!" I agree.

"Don't you both start too! Come on if we don't hurry, we'll be late!" cried Kyo as he marched off to school. "Oh well, there was such a commotion I wasn't able to do any gardening," said Yuki.

"Oh, those leeks we picked last time were pretty good. Are you planning on planting anything new?" I asked. He turned towards me to speak. "Yeah, actually I was planning on planting some strawberries and a banana tree. I orderd the tree all the way from America," he said. "Wow, really?! I love Bananas! And since you're also planting strawberries maybe we could make strawberry banana smoothies together sometime," I exclaim.

"I knew you would. That's why I'm planting them," he replied. I felt my face grow warm so I turned away, realizing Casey was walking right behind us; watching us as if we're a movie. "Thanks Yuki. That's really cool of you!" I say. Yuki keeps walking as I stop to wait for Casey. "So you're going to make Yuki fall in love with you instead of Kyo? What can't handle Kagura? I can take care of her if you want Kyo more," Casey whispers. I almost start laughing. "I'm not going to try and make either of them fall for me. You're crazy!" we both look at each other and laugh. Casey knows I don't plan to make them fall in love with me .A fictional character would never fall in love with me and I would never fall in love with a fictional character, no matter how real they seem to me right now….. Would I?


	5. Goodbye Tohru? Falling in love with Kyo?

**I'm sorry I haven't been updating recently! Blame the music, Shugo Chara Doki, and Kuroko no basket, and a lot of other anime's…and school?! I know I know… I'm only making excuses and am sorry! Thank you to the people who have actually read this. I have to go to school now, so it will be harder to write. But I will try to write a chapter maybe once a week (or every other week maybe…). Also, I might write more if I would get more reviews. Weather you say you hate my story or you like it, I don't care. I JUST WANT A REVIEW): **

Once again, it's another boring day at school. Nothing ever happens here. Well, I guess I wouldn't be able to tell if it was boring or not because I usually sleep, daydream, or get lost in my thoughts at school. I was never good at school anyways. Since I fell into Fruits Basket with Casey, I've realized that I'm "indecisive". At first I thought I liked Kyo and Yuki. But that was before I got to actually know them. I'm really good friends with them now. So there's no way I could ever start to like them like that, right? That would kind of ruin our friendship. I'm so happy that Casey and I have become such great friends with everyone. I can't wait till we meet the other members of the zodiac. I remember when I first came here. I didn't really want to get involved with anything. I just wanted to watch from afar. I guess I'm getting a little too attached. But now that I'm friends with everyone, I can't just let bad things happen to them.

So it's decided; I'll do my best to protect those around me. In real life I wouldn't be able to protect anyone because I didn't know what happens next. That was the real world where life is unexpected. But this is a book I've already read. I can now protect people since I know what's going to happen. There are a lot of types of characters I like, but I like the one who protects everyone MUCH better! Now I can finally be that character. My thoughts are interrupted when the bell rings. Looks like schools finally over! I walk over to Hana-san. "Hey, what happened in class today?" I ask. I ask her this every day and I always get the same answer. "I have no idea. I wasn't paying attention again. I was too busy reading everyone's electrical signals," she replied. I nod and walk back to my desk. Once I'm done I look over to Tohru's desk and see she's not there. I'm pretty sure she came to school today, so I was a bit confused until I felt someone tapping at my shoulder. I turned to find Kyo standing next to me. "Tohru went to the library a while ago, so I'm pretty sure she's already on her way home with Yuki. You'll just have to walk with me," He said.

"So you waited for me?" I laughed. It was funny because Kyo never waited for anyone. He normally walks out of class and always beats us home. "Fine then! I'll just leave you here by yourself," he replies. I grab his shirt to make him stop walking. "Wait, don't leave me! I need you….. " He turns to look at me and blushes a bit. "…To tell me what happened in class today," I say. "You forgot already? It just ended a few minutes ago!" he yells. I laugh, "I didn't forget, silly! I didn't pay attention." We start to walk out of the classroom. "I can't believe you just admitted you weren't paying attention," he replies.

**_Scene break_**

Kyo and I walk up to the house; Yuki and Casey have beaten us home. Tohru and Shigure were sitting at the table, and Casey and Yuki walked into the next room, where I'm sure Casey is going to walk upstairs and fall asleep or something. Kyo stops by the door and starts punching the air. I walk in and join Tohru and Shigure at the table. "The renovations are done," Shigure looks up at Tohru with some shock on his face, "I got a phone call from my grandfather while I was at school. He said I could come back now," Tohru said. I can't believe she's leaving already. I feels like we've only been here a few days but I know it's been longer than that. "So you're going to be leaving us soon?" asks Shigure.

"Yes, I plan on packing up right now actually. I should be out of your way by this afternoon," Tohru replied. She walked out of the room to go upstairs and pack. I hear her stop close to the door and talk to Yuki. "Thanks for everything Yuki" she says and bows. Shigure and I walk over to the door to listen to what he's going to say. "Oh… Uh, no problem," he replies. Tohru walks upstairs to pack when Shigure and I peek out from the door and stare at Yuki. "Out of all the romantic things you could've said, you say," Shigure looks at me to finish the sentence, "No problem." Yuki looks pretty upset. Over the past month Yuki and Kyo had become great friends with Tohru. I can understand why they would feel upset. I walk up to Yuki and pat him on the shoulder. "It'll be okay. I promise," I say as I walk up stairs to help Tohru pack. For some reason in episode 5 when Tohru leaves I don't really like how she acts in the beginning. She knows she doesn't want to leave so why is she acting like it's nothing. I mean yeah she knew it would happen sometime but….. I'm acting ridiculous. At least in the end she comes back, so I guess that's all that matters, right?

**_Scene break AND 3****rd**** person point of view_**

All the men sit in silence at the table. Kyo lays down right next to the table while Shigure smokes a cigarette and Yuki just sits there. "You're not going to try and stop her?" asks Shigure, breaking the silence smothering them. "Why would I? We knew from the start she was only staying here till renovations were done," Yuki bitterly replies. Kyo put his head in the palm of his hand. "We should've never allowed an outsider here anyways. The other two shouldn't be here either. Their all just going to leave one day anyways so why get attached?" Kyo said. Casey walked into the room and sat at the table with them. "Oh, so do you mean we should leave now, too? Just because you're upset Tohru is leaving doesn't mean you should take it out on Jessi and I. Didn't you promise Jessi you would control that temper of yours?" She replied as Kyo glared at her. "And you shouldn't worry. Jessi has a plan to get Tohru back; ya'll just gotta be patient." They all looked at Casey for a moment in confusion.

**_Scene break AND it's back to 1****st**** person! :D_**

Tohru had less than expected. It only took her about 30 minutes to pack up all her stuff. Before she decided to go downstairs and say goodbye I stopped her. "Tohru… Why don't you just stay here? I bet you'll have a lot more fun here than over there. And if you stay here, you can get to know me, Casey, Yuki, Kyo, Shigure, and the other zodiac members better. Wouldn't that be great?" she turns to me and give me a smile. Tohru smiling at odd times is usual, but this was different. Her eyes looked sad and her smile looked forced. "That would be great… but, I have to go home to my grandfather. He probably needs me. I wouldn't want to upset him," she says. Her voice sounds kind of shaky. Why does she never think about herself? What about what she wants? She always worries about others, which is great, but she should also do what makes her happy. I sigh and motion her to follow downstairs. When we get downstairs, everyone turns to look. They all stand up and walk her to the door. "Goodbye everyone. I really am grateful you let me live here!" she says as she waves goodbye.

I knew she would be back, but I couldn't help that sense of sadness tearing at my heart. I don't know why I feel sad. It's not like she'll be gone forever, right? It's only for a few days. It's dinner time so we go in the kitchen to see what we have. If there aren't any leftovers, Casey and I will have to cook. Although I've never been a good cook, (mostly because I don't pay attention to what I'm doing) but I'll try my hardest! I open the fridge and find a big plate full of food Tohru had made. There was a note lying on it. "Please heat up for dinner" it read. That's so like Tohru; always thinking ahead and of others. "Do any of you know how to cook it?" asks Shigure. He sounds totally unaffected by Tohru's leave. No one reply's. "Ahhhhh…. That's too bad. It looks like we won't be having the last meal cooked by our beloved, departed Tohru! I was sooooo looking forward to the last meal cooked by her delicate hands," Shigure says while swaying. He seems more perverted today than usual. I'm surprised Yuki didn't hit him like he usually does when Shigure says perverted stuff. I guess he's too depressed. Wait… did he just say departed? He's talking as if she's dead! That crazy old man. Yuki and Kyo immediately get to cooking the food Tohru had made. I kind of feel bad I wasn't the one to cook it. I walk over to Casey, who is standing in the corner farthest from everyone. "Wow, everyone is really depressed. Shigure is so depressed he's being more perverted to cover it up. Yuki is so depressed, he's not hitting Shigure. Kyo is so depressed, he's not yelling or challenging Yuki to a fight," I say. I fell really awful that I can't do anything to help at the moment. After all, we have to wait one more day before I decide to get Tohru back. I sigh at the thought of everyone having to suffer for one whole day. "Yeah, Yuki and Kyo seem really depressed. But honestly, I think Shigure is just being his normal (Perverted) self. Hey… do we really have to wait a whole day before we go get Tohru? She's already feeling out of place there. Why can't we just go get her now? Right about now, her cousin is probably getting mad that she has to share a room. I bet Tohru already misses us! Besides, I don't want to make dinner. We are the ones who do the shopping and chores. I bet we would burn everything we try to cook," Casey sighs.

"Don't worry; it won't be that long until she's back. But for a day everyone will have to suffer. I wish we could go get her now too, but we don't know for sure that we will get the outcome we want. In one day, I will make sure everyone is happy. That's what I'm going to do while here. I will protect everyone. So don't worry," I reassure. Casey turns to me and smiles. "I wasn't really worried all that much. But does this mean you're saying you want to be the heroine of the story? You say you plan on protecting everyone, but doesn't that mean things will change? What if you're put in a situation you can't quite handle?" she drops a bomb of questions on me. I take a while to gather my thoughts.

"I guess I could be considered the heroine for now. I never thought of changing the story so much, that I would be put in an odd situation. I guess all I can say is, I'll try my best," I reply. Casey smiles as if saying "good answer."

_Scene brake! :O_

It was dark outside when I decided to go for a stroll to that park nearby. I don't know why I did; I just felt the urge to go there. It was rather chilly outside and of course I just walked outside in a t-shirt and jeans like it was nothing. It's not like I'm going to get sick or anything; as the saying goes, "Too stupid to even catch a cold". Or something similar to that. I arrived at the park and sat in a red swing. The swing looks to be very old. Swing is about the only thing I can do there. All the other things are for babies and kids. I honestly don't know why I like this place so much. I start to swing a little. My mind starts to drift off to when I was a little kid. My mom built a swing in the back yard for me. It was two ropes tied to a tree and a wooden seat. We didn't have much money back then (on account of only having one parent to take care of me) so that's all we could afford. I kind of miss her now that I'm in a different world than she is. Anyways she tried to teach me how to swing. I wasn't (and I'm still not) the brightest kid ever so when she told me to kick my feet, I actually started kicking! She laughed and laugh, but I didn't understand why at the time. Now that I look back on it, it was kind of funny. My thoughts come to an end when someone whispers, "Jessi." I open my eyes and find Kyo sitting in front of me, just staring. It was a bit surprising, so I screamed and fell back off the swing. I heard him laugh a little. "Ah… Yo-you laughed," I whispered.

"Well, yeah it was funny!" he said as if obvious. "That's good. You should smile and laugh more and not be depressed," I said. His smile faded a bit. His eyes grew sad as he looked to the ground. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to say that. At least I got him to smile and laugh. "I let it happen again," he said. I looked at him in confusion. What happened again? Did something I didn't know about ACTUALLY happen? "When Tohru said she was leaving, I said that you and Casey should leave too. I let my anger take control of what I said. Maybe you don't care if I said that but…. I just wanted you to know; because I care. I care about you a lot. If you had been the one to hear me say that, and got hurt, I… I…" he couldn't finish his sentence.

I patted him on his head and ruffled his hair a bit. "I'm glad," I said. He looked at me in with a confused face like I did a minute ago. "I'm… really glad you told me. It means you've realized what you're saying isn't really how you feel. It's only your anger taking control. You're right; if I had heard it then, I would have been hurt. But, I'm not hurt since you confirmed you didn't really mean it. And don't worry about Tohru. She'll be back, I promise! Because I'm going to protect everyone and make sure they're happy. I'll do whatever it takes to become the character who protects everyone!" I reply.

"Character?" he says. "Yeah, like in a show or book, there's the character that protects everyone they love," I reply. Kyo blushes for some reason. "But is that really your true character?" he asks. I think for a moment. What exactly IS my character? Before I could give my answer he Kyo says, "I like you just the way you are. You don't have to change your personality or the things you do to protect everyone. Do it your way. I don't want you to change because I… I like the you right now." My face grows hot and turns many shades of red. At this point Kyo is very close to my face, but I don't notice until I look into his eyes. They're so red. They start to close. Suddenly he kisses me. His hand cups my cheek and then goes through my hair. I don't know what to do. My mind is just clouded right now. All I know right now is that he's kissing me and I can't move away. His hands that are running through my hair are so warm. Then he stops kissing me but his forehead is touching mine. His face is still pretty close until he pulls away looking embarrassed. I don't move; I can't. I guess I'm just a little shocked. He's in love with Tohru so he couldn't possibly have just kissed me right? I finally regain the ability to move and turn away. I touch my lips. They're still really warm. My heart is beating in my chest and I don't know why. I thought people's hearts beat this fast only when they're in love. But that's not possible in this case, right? I mean, he's fictional! My face grows warm. I look at Kyo who is also blushing. "So, now you understand?" I look at him confused.

"What do you mean?" I ask. He laughs a bit. "You're so dense about these things, aren't you? Isn't it obvious that…. that I've fallen in love with you?" This can't be happening. This must be a dream or something, right? Kyo would never like me like that! In the manga he falls in love with Tohru. Even in the anime, you can tell he loves her. It looked like he loved her from the very start. Like love at first sight or something. The strangest thing is right now, I'm not feeling sad, mad, guilty, or any unhappiness. I…. I'm actually feeling a little happy. How can I be happy at a time like this? I've just ruined the whole story haven't I? But I don't just feel happy… what's this other feeling I feel right now? I've never felt this way before. It's so strange. "Please don't hate me for kissing you. I…. I just couldn't help it. I don't know when I started loving you. It just happened. Even if you don't feel the same way, please, just don't say no. Just don't say anything." He stands up a holds out a hand to me. "W-we should probably go home before someone finds out we aren't there. They might get worried." When I stand up he puts his jacket around me. I guess he can tell I'm cold. I turn to face him. "What about you? Aren't you cold Kyo?" I ask.

He nods, "But I'll be fine."

"Kyo….. I just wanted to tell you, that was my first kiss and umm…. Well, I'm glad it was you," I said while blushing bright red. I meant what I said; I'm glad my first kiss was with someone as nice as Kyo rather than with someone else. But I'm worried something bad is going to happen. Then again, I'm always worried about nothing, aren't I? Besides, nothing bad can really happen because this isn't really real. It's still fictional, right? This world I'm in right now isn't really real. It's just a book someone wrote.

**_Scene brake: The very next morning DUN DUUUUN DUUUUUUUUUUUN… XP_**

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping and light shining through the window. I sat up in my bed and looked around. But I realized I wasn't in the same room I went to sleep in. I was in my room in real life. I screamed. My mother walked in, "What's wrong Jessica?" I didn't know what was going on. Was it all just a dream? How can that all possibly be a dream? I started to cry. I didn't want it to be a dream. I've grown to love everyone I've met there. And Kyo…. Was his confession a dream too? I caught myself only thinking about Kyo and changed. Those moments I spent with Yuki, Kyo, Shigure and Tohru. Were they all fake? I haven't even gotten to bring Tohru back yet. I calmed down because I didn't want to make mother worry. "I'm fine. I just had… a strange dream. That's all. I get up to eat breakfast and get dressed to go to school. I walk to my bus stop like I always did. Most of the day went my in a flash; or maybe I was just in a daze. Either way the day went by unusually fast. School was over and I was back at my bus stop. I decided to walk to the park instead of going home.

I sat in a swing and my mind drifted back to those times I went to the park in fruits baskets. Kyo had been there those times too. I remember the most intense moments of the "dream": walking with Yuki, the two times at the park with Kyo, the time I spent with Kagura, when Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure turned into animals. What's strange is that it all seemed so real and I can actually remember all of it. Every moment we all spent together. I usually forget my dreams. Is it strange that I miss fictional characters when all that time it was really a dream? How could I be so dumb? Something so amazing couldn't possibly exist. And it certainly wouldn't happen to me.

"It was real." I heard a voice say. I turned around and found Casey standing behind me. She sat in the swing next to me. I gave her a confused look. "It was all real. The time you spent with those "fictional characters". None of it was a dream. This is actually the dream. I'm your conscience; I take the form of what's most comfortable for you. You should stop thinking them as fictional. Everything that's happening to you is real so they aren't fictional right now. The world you're in right now is so real; realer than life. The air that they breathe is the same air you're breathing. The pain and sadness they feel is the same pain and sadness you feel. The love they feel…. Even that's the same kind of love you feel," she preached, "So stop thinking they aren't really real. It can really hurt. To find out that the person you love thinks you aren't real, the pain must be unbearable."

I quickly sat up. I was back home. Casey was in the other bed next to me. I smiled. I'm so glad this isn't a dream. I'm so glad this is really real! I don't think I ever go back to the other world. I go over to wake Casey up. "Casey… Casey? CASEY!" I yell. Of course I regret yelling at her when she screams, "WHAT THE HECK DO YOU WANT?!" I'm quiet for a while so she can calm down. "Casey, I had a dream, and you where my conscience!" I said with a smile. I only told her that part because I don't think she would care about the other parts. "I…. was a conscience? That's so friggin' awesome!" she replies. I get dressed and walk downstairs. Everyone is sitting at the table, like they were waiting or something. I hear Yuki's stomach growl. "I'm hungry," he says.

"I'll make breakfast!" everyone looks scared, "What?" No one dares tell me that they are scared I'll make them eat something terrible or burn down the house, but you can tell by the look on their faces that that's what they want to say. I ignore them and start making eggs. I might know how to cook a lot of things, but I can definitely cook eggs. By the time I'm done Casey is also sitting at the table. I set the eggs at the table and sit by Kyo. We all ate in silence. I guess they really CAN'T go on without Tohru.

**_Scene break: After school _**

It's nearing dinner time and the atmosphere of depression is still pretty thick. It's so suffocating now. "All right then!" I shout real loud which causes everyone to turn and stare at me. "Yuki, Kyo… Let's hurry and go get Tohru." Yuki gives me a look like I'm crazy. "But there's no guarantee she'll want to come back," he replies. I laugh, "Well, you'll never know until we try right? Besides, I bet you Tohru is already missing us!"

**_Scene break: Tohru's "new house": D wow there's a lot of scene breaks in this chapter! _**

I climb into the window on the side of the house while Yuki and Kyo come in from the front door. Don't ask why I'm coming through the window, I just wanted to have some kind of dramatic entrance! I hear Tohru crying, "I wanted to stay there. I wanted to know more about Yuki, Kyo, Shigure, Jessi, Casey and the rest of the Sohma family. I wanted to become closer to all of them." GAAHH! If she wanted to stay, why couldn't she just say so? I see no point in making everyone suffer if she wanted to stay all along. That's what I wanted to stay. But I couldn't just say that to her so instead I say, "Well then why didn't you say so? We came to pick you up. I figured you would come back by now but since you didn't I came to pick you up." Kyo and Yuki walk into the hallway with the rest of the family.

"So these are the boys the tramps been shaking up with," announces her cousin. I give him one of my most terrifying glares and then he starts to shake with fear. "That's offensive because 1) I, sir, am a girl. 2) Are you trying to say the poor, sweet, innocent Tohru is a tramp? And 3) Yuki and Kyo wouldn't lay a hand on Tohru, they wouldn't stoop so low. Maybe you would, but they wouldn't," I say while Yuki is walking up to the cousin. He slaps him and say something I can't quiet hear while looking up at him. I always liked this scene because even though Yuki is so much shorter, he slaps him and even looks up to face the cousin.

**_Scene brake: back at home! Sooooo many scene brakes….. _ _**

Tohru's back and everyone is back to their regular self. Casey is sleeping, Kyo is yelling, Shigure is being perverted, and Yuki is trying to ignore Kyo. And me; as usual I'm walking to the nearby park. I sit down in the swing I always do and try to drift off with my thoughts. But then I realize I'm being followed. "Kyo, you're getting bad at following me," I laugh. He walks over and sits in the swing next to me. "I just followed you to see what you were doing. Of course you would be coming here. Why do you always come here? There's nothing special about this place. All you can do is swing," he asks.

"I guess it's because great memories I will always treasure happen when I come here. I've had a lot of great moments since I started living here but this place will always be special to me. I know it must sound silly but I like it here. It's like how you like the roof so much and Yuki loves his garden," I reply to his questions, "Kyo….. Do you REALLY love me?" he looks at me with his blushed face. His mouth opens to speak but nothing comes out. It's like that for a few minutes before he replies, "Of course I love you. There's no one else I've ever loved more than you. I love your smile and the way your eyes light up. I love the way you try and comfort us all. I even love the way you're willing to change your character to protect everyone; you're so amazing. I know I love you because I find myself always thinking about you. When I see you alone with that damn rat Yuki I get mad. If you're upset then I feel upset and want you to feel better. I want nothing more than to hold you but….." he stops talking and realizes he's crying. I lean in and kiss him. The kiss lasts a long time. I start thinking about what's going on…. Oh my gosh, I'm kissing Kyo! Holy crap! All I knew was that Kyo was crying and (I can't believe I'm actually saying this but) Kyo looked kind of cute while talking about how he loved me. I stop kissing and turn the other way.

"Jessi…. Look at me," he insists. I shake my head no. "Jessi, let me see your face." He demands. I'm not turning to look at him because I don't want him to see me blushing. I can't believe I'm just now realizing my feelings towards Kyo. I know he likes me back but I'm too scared. I'm scared something bad will happen. What if it turns out he doesn't love me for real. Or what if he starts to like Tohru? I don't think I can handle that. He grabs my shoulders and turns me towards him so he can see me face. "You're so cute when you make faces like this," he whispers. I look into his eyes which causes me to blush even more. I realize I'm not the only one blushing when I look at Kyo. "I love you," he says as he starts to lean in. "I…. I love you too," I say before he kisses me. I don't know why, but after he said he loved me again, I just felt that it would be okay to love him.

Maybe this won't work out. Maybe it'll end terribly. But if it's with Kyo, I guess I'm willing to take that chance. I'm willing to because when he kisses me I feel safe and like I can do anything.

I love Kyo Sohma.

**Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~ I'm sorry if the kissing scene sounds awkward and unrealistic! D: I've never kissed anyone or had that kind of love yet (TMI) so the only material I have is from books DX I'm 13 already, this is ridiculous! Grrrrrrrrrr….. Anyways please review…. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeease? And ummmm… yeah sorry for writing about her having a dream… I guess it was kind of unnecessary but I got bored and wrote that… I'M SO SORRY I SUCK AT WRITING PLZ DON'T HATE ME O_O ….. Please review, thank you for reading **


	6. Sleepover Time! The truth about us?

I, Kyo, Yuki, and then Tohru walked into the house after a long day from the torture rooms/dungeons adults call school.

I lay down next to the table where Shigure was sitting at and Tohru followed.

"So, uh, can I tell my friends where I'm staying? I'm sure they would like to know, now that I'm officially living here," asked Tohru.

Shigure peeped over his newspaper, shocked a little. "Uh, sure. I guess it's alright as long as you don't tell them the curse thing," he replied.

Wait… She's planning on telling Uo-san and Hana-san she's living here. Then they're going to end up spending the night. Then everyone's going to change into their animal form. YES! I think I might get to play the heroine this time.

_Scene break: Lunch time at school! _

"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AH?" shouted Uo-san, "So not only were you living in a tent at first, but now you're living with the Sohmas? You're living with the Orange top Kyo and prince (of our school) Yuki?"

Hana-san just sat there biting into a chip.

"I… I'm sorry I didn't tell you it's just that…." Tohru looked like she didn't know what else to say.

"Tohru just didn't want to bother you. You know how Tohru is; always thinking of others. You, of course, don't think she's a bother, but she knows it wouldn't be easy for you to let her live there. It's not like she can confine in the Sohma's and not you. Her living at the Sohma's was a total coincidence. She really likes it there," I rambled.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ait….. How do YOU know all of this already?" asked Uo-san, eyeing me.

"Oh yeah I guess she didn't tell you that me, her AND Tohru are living there," Casey said, scaring us. Truth is we didn't even know she was there until she said something. I kind of feel bad that I haven't spent much time with Casey. After all, she WAS my best friend AND the only one who knew we are in our favorite Manga.

"First Tohru didn't tell us she was living there and now you too?" asked Uo-san with a pained face.

I was in shock; true Uo-san and Hana-san had become good friends with me, but I didn't think they would care that much.

"Sorry Uo-san," I reached over and patted her shoulder comfortingly. "I didn't think you would care that much."

Uo-snapped back into her normal self a little bit. "Hmmmmm. Well, I did think it was a bit odd how you three started spending a lot of time with the prince and orange top lately," Uo-san said.

Hana-san crumpled her bag of chips liked she was totally pissed off, but of course, her facial expression didn't change. "Perhaps, we should have them invite us over. We should see if this is a good enough environment for our little Tohru and Jessi to be living in," Hana-san said, leaving Casey out on Purpose.

Uo-san and Hana-san didn't seem to get along with Casey for some reason.

They just put up with her because Tohru and I were friends with her. I wonder why. "Great idea, let's go check it out. Right. Now," replied Uo-san. "WAIT….. If we show up unexpectedly, they might not serve us snack…. I want snacks," demanded Hana-san.

"Okay then, it's settled. We'll be staying the night tomorrow," Uo-san replies.

Tohru sits there in shock; like she didn't expect them to make plans like spending the night without actually asking.

I sat in shock because of what Hana-san said and the fact that Uo-san didn't correct her.

She said "Our little Tohru AND Jessi. Oh. My. Gosh. I'm so close to Uo-san and Hana-san! SO COOL!

I've always admired them (in the respect kind of way) for being such amazing people.

I think it's cool how Hana-san can read peoples signals and she could tell that Tohru was crying on New Year's Eve. I LOVED the way Uo-san was such a good friend and would always stick up for Tohru.

If anything ever went wrong, she could always rely on her two good friends. Of course, I have an amazing friend too.

Casey Jones: a reliable friend who will stick up for me and slap me when I REALLY need it. I'm not joking about that last part…. She really will slap me O_O. The point is, now I have 2 new amazing friends to add to my list of friends.

_Scene break: back at home and the day of the sleepover_

Shigure decided to go all out on cleaning since "high-school girls", as he repeated, were coming over.

"Ahhhhh, I wonder what kind of girls are coming over today," he said with a huge smile on his face.

"A Yankee and a psychic," quickly replied Kyo.

I looked at Kyo, "Kyo, Uo-san isn't a Yankee, she's just….. Well, the point is, she's not a Yankee. And Hana-san being a psychic is SUPER cool," I turned to glare at Shigure, "Now Shigure, don't say or do anything perverted while they're here. They are VERY protective," I argued.

I heard a knock from the front door but decided to let Tohru get the door.

"I _**STILL**_ think this was a bad idea. What if something goes wrong?" questioned Kyo.

I put a hand on Kyo's shoulder, "I know you don't like them, but please just bear with it for one night. They're just worried about us."

"Why are they worried about you? You can handle yourself just fine," he turns to look the other way and mumbles under his breath so only I could hear, "and even if you couldn't, I would protect you."

I looked down and blushed. I didn't know what to say to that. Even if I did, it's not like I could say it in front of Yuki and Shigure; that would be WAY to embarrassing.

Kyos hand held mine as Uo-san and Hana-san walked in (our hands were kind of under the table so no one could really see).

"Hey, where's Casey? I know she's usually never around, but tonight it seems as if she's not here at all," wondered Shigure.

"She said she didn't want to be around Uo-san and Hana-san, so she was going to spend the night at one of her new friend's house. I think her name was Bethany Emerson," I replied.

"Bethany Emerson: tall, blonde hair, brown eyes, best subjects are reading and writing, popular among the boys in our school, and on top of all that amazingness her electrical signals are quite fascinating," Hana-san piped up. No one really knew how to reply to THAT.

"So, uh, welcome… Make yourselves at home please," said Shigure.

"So this is your place? What do you do to pay for it?" asked Uo-san.

"Oh I'm a writer. Actually I'm a novelist…." Shigure and everyone else continued talking but my mind drifted elsewhere.

I thought back to my kiss with Kyo. Does he think we are going out now? Of course I want to be with him but….. What if I suddenly end up back in MY world?

Then won't the story just go back to the way it was? Then out of our relationship, I would be the only one who was really affected.

Or what if the story really DOES change and he wonders where I went? What happens then? I'm scared because either way, one of us get hurt if I suddenly somehow end up back home.

I'm going to have to tell him all this aren't I? I'm going to have to tell him we can't possibly be together.

But what if he asks why? I can't tell him I don't love him because he obviously already knows I do. Why does love have to be so complicated?

I stopped thinking about everything after getting a major headache thinking about it all.

"Do you _REALLY_ want to know how we met?" Hana-san suddenly asked Shigure, "I transferred into Tohru's class. You see, at my old school I had caused quite a disturbance…"

"Hahahahaha well, that's all right. Hey, I just realized I have to go do… uh... Something," nervously laughed Shigure.

"I gotta say," Uo-san mumbled, "I didn't know what to think when Tohru and Jessi said they were living here. But so far I see they fit right in." she turned towards me, "I'm happy for you two. I guess I understand why you guys didn't want to say anything at first…. But still….. I feel like you think you two can't count on us. Or maybe we just aren't that good as friends."

"Uo-san…." I couldn't reply. I tried but I honestly couldn't. I hurt Uo-san's and maybe even Hana-san's feelings. I looked at the floor in shame. Great going Jess…

"Nah I just don't think Tohru is the kind of girl who worries about stuff like that. And Jessi didn't know you well enough to live with you. She happened to be here by coincidence," answered Kyo.

"What do you mean coincidence?" asked Uo-san as Hana-san peeped over a book in surprise.

"She came here with Casey, not knowing where she lived or where she was. They just said they woke up on our front porch without any memory of what had happened or where they're from," replied Yuki.

Oh no…. This is turning out bad. What is Uo or Hana –san start looking into Casey and I and they can't find anything and confront us about it? What will we tell them?

Uo-san looked at me with a pained face. "I…. I'm so sorry. It must be tough for you and Casey. Now I kind of feel bad for being so mean to her. Have you recovered any memories yet?" Uo-san asked me

"No….. But, even if I do remember stuff, I still really want to live here. Maybe that sounds selfish but I really like it here; so does Casey," I lie. One day all this lying is going to come to catch up with me and bite me right on the…. "Sorry it took me so long. I hope you're all ready to play!" Tohru walked in and raised a deck of cards, "Jessi-san suggested we play this," admitted Tohru.

We started playing and of course Kyo and Uo-san started yelling at each other about how the other was cheating and using "cheap tricks" to win the game.

"Next time you pull that crap, I'm gonna light you out!" shouted Uo-san.

"Oh yeah, just you try! It's gonna be the dumbest thing you ever did! I'll take you out!" hollered Kyo

Kyo and Uo-san stood up and walked around the table to get to the other.

"Oh yeah? You sure talk big for a guy who's running away!" she said.

"I'm not running away, I gotta go pee!" he admitted. I can't believe he actually said that with a straight face.

Uo-san continuously hopped in front of Kyo so he couldn't leave. Here it comes; the big moment that starts it all. As Uo-san accidently bumped into Kyo, as flash of orange smoke suddenly appeared. I was already standing behind Uo-san when I jumped in front of her and grabbed his clothes and quickly threw them outside. Kyo slid his way outside without being noticed. She looked around for a moment. "Something wrong Uo-san?" I asked with a smile. "Uh… Ah, no I guess not," she replied, still in quite a daze. "Hey let's play a quick game of goldfish while Kyo's in the bathroom!" I announced. "Oh my, I haven't played goldfish in YEARS!" cried Tohru. Uo-san was just about to go sit down at the table when suddenly, she slipped on the rug.

Tohru, trying to save Uo, toppled over while standing up which caused Yuki to try and save her; which of course led to a cloud of Purple smoke appearing causing Yuki to turn into a rat.

"Ah, Tohru are you okay?" worried Uo-san as her and Hana-san rushed over to Tohru. I calmly followed as Yuki ran outside to join Kyo. "Are you hurt?" I asked.

"No, I'm alright," she reassured.

Uo and Hana stared at the clothes Yuki left behind which Tohru happened to be lying on.

Tohru quickly wrapped it around her hand and gave us a nervous laugh, "Ahahahahha, I didn't really fall….. Just cleaning up, see? Scrub scrub scrub scrub…." She said as she wiped Yuki's shirt on the floor.

I laughed, "Oh Tohru, you know that's my job. It's okay, you do enough work around here. Here, give that to me," I reached my hand out towards her to receive Yuki's shirt. She gladly gave it to me and when they weren't looking, I threw it outside as well.

"Orange top seems to be taking his time and the prince just up and disappeared," Uo-san announced.

"I wonder where our oh-so-kind hosts have run off to," mumbled Hana.

"Oh for the love of…. We can't even start this game of goldfish ya know?" groaned Uo.

"A cat…. A cat paw…" mumbled Hana. Suddenly, Shigure appeared. "Ohohohoho, playing a game of goldfish I see. Can I join?" he asked. "Depends," I mumble.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the master novelist. Are you any good at this game?" Uo challenged.

Shigure gave us a laugh and started rubbing his chin, "Well, you should know, back in the day they used to call me…" Shigure stopped talking to think.

"What? What'd they call you?" asked Uo. After a moment Shigure replied, "I forgot…"

"Really? I bet it was such a cool name though!" exclaimed Tohru. Uo laughed, "Ahahahaha, I'll say…. It's totally a lie." I laughed.

I peeked over by the door where a set of eyes were staring at me; cat's eyes to be exact. Then a small could of orange fog appear, but no one saw but me.

"Hm? Did you hear that?"Uo questioned me. "Hear what?" I replied.

As Tohru and Shigure went for Yuki's shirt I tried to explain to Uo that I had no idea what she was talking about. Poof! Shigure was a dog now. "Oh…..Spot! I'm so glad your back, I thought you had run away for good!" she lied.

"YAY! Spot's back! He's been missing for over a week. We were really getting worried that something bad had happened to him," I said.

"That's odd…. We've run out of snacks. I'll go find some in the kitchen," decided Hana. As she turned around she bumped into Kyo who had finally changed back. Poof: an orange fog and an orange cat.

Shigure started barking like crazy to get everyone's attention away from Kyo. Then Yuki turned back into a human, which caused Shigure to bark even louder while prancing across the room.

"That's…. strange. I could've sworn I'd seen orange top in here a second ago," Uo noted.

Shigure Jumped on her shoulder and barked to get her mind off it as Yuki walked into the room, buttoning his shirt.

"Jessi-san, I think Spot is trying to tell us he's hungry, don't you?" asked Yuki. I nodded in agreement.

"Alright I'll get him some food. Come on boy, let's go to the kitchen," Tohru said as motioning him towards her way.

"Tohru, can you get Hana-san some more snack please?" I asked. She nodded and walked into the kitchen.

After a while we tried playing a game of goldfish with Yuki, buuuuuuuuuuuuuut it wasn't turning out so well…..

"Ugh, come on already," Griped Uo. "Well now, this game isn't turning out so good is it?" mumbled Hana.

Yuki got nervous and went to go check on Tohru. But then Tohru bumped into Yuki at the door. She was holding a tray of snacks for Hana.

She searched for Yuki through the Jelly-buns but couldn't find him. Instead she grabbed a jelly-bun and squeezed its insides out by accident. I found Yuki easily and put him in the kitchen with Shigure.

_scene break_

"Uo-san don't move!" I exclaimed. "Why not?" she questioned.

"Because you were about to step on an orange cat with clothes tied around its neck being carried in the mouth of a dog with a rat on its head," Hana answered for me.

I looked over at Tohru who was frozen with fear for a moment. "That's our pets playing together. Spot, loves to play with the cat and the rat. I wonder how the rat got out of his cage though….." I reassured.

"One! Two! One! Two!" Repeated Shigure as he rubbed a pair of pants on his back. "Nothing beats a good warm-up like drying off with a good towel," he said. After a while I gave up on trying to focus on what everyone was saying and what was going on; I need a breather!

3rd Person POV: "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later so don't worry," Jessica sighed as she stood up and walked out the door.

"Is she okay?" asked Arisa Uotani. "Yeah, she'll be okay. Sometimes her head gets clouded and she just needs to go for a walk," reassured Yuki. Kyo looked over to the door Jessica had accidently left wide open. "I wonder if she's alright. Maybe it's something I did…." Kyo thought.

_Scene break: Me….Walking back to 1st person POV_

After a while of walking with my eyes closed, I looked around me and realized I was about to walk into the word. "Why not?" I thought to myself. I heard the wind whistle through the trees as it blew past me. I sat below a beautiful willow tree. The way it swayed in the wind made it feel as if it was comforting me. I came out here to think… but that didn't last long. I heard someone's step and immediately knew who it was.

"Kyo, why'd you follow me?" I asked. The question hung in the air for a while until he finally replied, "I was worried about you…. I thought you were upset maybe about something I did. If you ever have a problem you can tell me."

"Kyo….. What relationship do you think we have?" I ask.

"Well…. I told you how I felt, and you told me how you felt….. So I just figured we were together," he replied. He walked over and sat in front of me.

"Kyo…. We can't be together," I said with a shaky voice. I stood up and tried to walk away but Kyo grabbed my arm.

He looked me in the eyes and cried, "Give me a reason. You have to give me one GOOD reason why we can't be together. You can't just walk away without saying anything else."

"It's because we're from two different worlds!" I shouted as tears poured down my face.

"What do you mean? Is it because of my curse?" he asked.

"NO! I don't care that you have a curse, I'd love you anyways," I cried.

"Then what DO you mean?" he questioned me.

_scene break: after telling him what I meant_

We sat in silence for a long time. Probably out of shock; or maybe it was fear.

"So you're from a different world. But know you're scared you might one day suddenly leave so you don't want to take the chance of getting hurt by being with me…." He suddenly announced.

I nodded in agreement. I can't believe I actually TOLD him. What if he hates me now and tells Yuki and Shigure? Then what if Shigure decides to tell Akito? Not only will I lose the memories that I've had here, but in my other life as well.

"But you didn't seem to realize that none of that changes how we feel about each other," he says.

I look to him in confusion. "Taking risks is what life is all about. I took the risk of telling you I loved you. You could've said you didn't love me, but you didn't. I took a risk, why can't you try? And even if you do go back to your other world, we'll always have the memories we shared, right? That's good enough for me," He stated. He turned towards me and cupped my face. He never took his eyes off mine. "I love you and nothing is ever going to change that!" he announced right before he kissed me.

I could feel myself getting light-headed and blushing. I wrapped my arms around his neck and returned the kiss. He's right…. I should take more risks. For Kyo, I'll take this risk. I'll take the risk of falling even more in love with Kyo. And if I'm hurt, well then I'm hurt.

"Be mine forever," added Kyo. As I grabbed his hand to walk back home I replied, "Yes."

Well THAT escalated quickly! Anyways, thanks for reading and PLEASE review. Credit goes to AirBendingDragonOfNarnia for giving me the idea for the chapter, so THANK YOU! P.S. you will get to know about this new OC Bethany Emerson LATER in the story…. Idk how many chapters it will take but you'll just have to wait and see, read, and review! :D oh and if Andrea and Kilee are reading this, THANKS. You too Bethany :P PLEASE REVIEW! :D


	7. Festival time TheQualities on your back?

**Falling into Fruits Baskets chapter 7: Festival time! The admirable qualities on your back?**

"How about we make it a rice ball battle!" cried out Kyo. "REJECTED!" roared the class. It was just a week away from the cultural festival. "SALMON FLAVOR! Let's only sell salmon flavor! It's the bestest in the world," I shouted.

"Jessi, bestest isn't a word and you only think salmon flavored is the best cause that's the only one you've ever tried," Hana smiled. It seems my idea was rejected as well. *sigh*

"How about a hit and miss? We can have a more commonly loved flavor of rice ball and a not-so-loved flavor of rice ball. Randomly picked of course," Yuki announced. The class nodded and shouted in agreement.

"OH SUUUUUUUUUUUURE! You all follow any idea he spout outta his mouth," Kyo shouts while standing atop of his desk.

"No one else thinks salmon flavored rice balls are the best?" I asked as I looked around.

The class surrounded Kyo and I and laughed. "You can't call us followers just because we know a good idea when we hear one," one guy smiled, "Poor Kyo-Kyo and Jessi."

"Don't call me that!" Kyo yelled.

"Kyoooooooooooooo-Kyooooooooooooooo," I laughed and he blushed in response.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Jessi likes Kyo. Jessi likes Kyo! Everyone knows girls tease the boys they like," a random girl chanted.

I felt my face grow warm. I didn't know what to say. Am I supposed to deny being with Kyo, say it's true, or just laugh it off. "So?" Kyo glared daggers at the girl.

"Uh, I was, um…. I was just kidding. You don't have to get all serious….." she replied. The class went silent for a while.

I kind of feel bad. What if Kyo wanted me to say something like, "Yeah I love Kyo and we are dating! We're gonna be together forever and blah blah blah blah…?" Even if he DID want me to say that, I couldn't say something like that. I'm the least romantic person in the world! Of course when it comes to other peoples love lives, I totally butt-in and give advice and I'm set in full lovey-dovey-mode. I even go as far as trying to plan their wedding (just ask Casey). Of course that's where they stop me. Why can't I take my own advice? I guess it's all just easier said than done.

The problem is, I'm SUPPOSED to be taking more risks. I took the risk of being with Kyo, so why can't I tell people? Maybe I'm reading into this too much! I just need a breather.

When I returned from my own little world kittens had surrounded Kyo. "Aw look!" "Hey how'd they get in here?" "They really like Kyo!" a bunch of the classmates shouted. Suddenly he screamed and ran out.

Tohru ran after him as the class laughed. It took a moment to realize what might start happening. What if Tohru spends just enough time with Kyo for him to realize he wants her and not me? Tohru wouldn't even know what she was doing. Agghhhh! Now I'm just getting worried over nothing. What's wrong with me? Does every girl go through this when they love someone? If so, then, how annoying!

_scene break: rooftop_** _**_ _

In the end, I decided to follow Tohru and Kyo. I'm only going because I'm curious. I AM NOT JEALOUS!

"Awwwww, what a cute little kitty," Tohru cooed as I reached the top of the latter. "Hey, watchya doing?" I asked with a smile.

Tohru jumped in surprise of my arrival. "Oh, hey Jessi. We were just talking a bit. I can't wait for the festival! By the way, I thought your idea was pretty good. Too bad we won't be going along with it," Tohru rambled. "I should get going." She waved by as she slowly climbed down the latter.

"That must be so cool to be able to attract a group of adorable kittens! I wish I could do that," I say.

"HOW THE HECK IS THAT COOL? This one time I was walking in the mountains with Kagura and we got surrounded by a pack of boars, I thought they were gonna eat us!" Kyo shouted.

I laughed. "It's not funny! Why are you laughing?" he asked.

"It's just because when you said that your eyes just got really huge! Besides, I doubt they were going to harm you two (ESPECIALLY not you) if Kagura was the one who attracted them," I giggled, "Aren't you going to help everyone with the festival?" I asked.

He sighed, "What am I even doing here? I feel completely useless. They don't even need me. They have Yuki…. I doubt anyone is gonna need me. They're all too busy looking up to HIM. That's the way it's always been and I'm sure it's always gonna be that way. Why bother trying? He's always been the smart one, he knows how to get stuff done and he's good with people and all that stuff…. Everyone's always saying how talented he is and he doesn't even have to do much! He barely tries. It's just like with fighting. I've trained longer than he has AND I've worked harder… but he's still better than me. IT MAKES ME SICK TO MY STOMACHE! I mean, what do I gotta do be someone like that, ya know? Why can't I be more like... like him!?"

I'm confused. Wasn't he talking about this with Tohru? Does this mean he… he'd rather tell ME this?

I smiled and sat next to Kyo. He looked at me as I patted his shoulder. "You guys are quiet the contradiction. If you were like him and he were like you, I'm sure you would still want to be like the other person. It's kind of funny when you think about it," I replied. He shot me a confused look.

"Yuki wants to be someone who can open up to people easily, like you. Yuki doesn't want to be a part of the family, but you do. You want to have things come to you as easily as they do to Yuki. You WANT to be a part of the family, but he doesn't. You want to be more like him and he wants to be more like you. So why is it that even though you both secretly admire each other, it just pushes you two farther apart? If you guys can see the admirable qualities in others, why can't you see it in yourselves?" I rambled.

For a moment, we sat in silence. "Pshhh…. Who said I admired him? We're enemies; enemies don't admire each other, they fight!" he protested.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I chuckled.

_Scene break: About to walk home from a hard day at work!_

I walked outside the store to find Kyo standing there at the sidewalk. "Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Walking my girlfriend home," he said as if obviously. I blushed as he walked towards me and held my hand.

"Kyo… when they said I liked you, did you want me to admit it in front of everyone or deny it. I didn't know what to do so I didn't say anything. I'm sorry," I whined.

"It's okay. Looking at it from your point of view, it'd be really embarrassing to tell someone we're going out, especially in front of our whole class. You're just not that kind of person who is all lovey-dovey, and neither am I. But I still want people to know we're going out. So from now on, let's try to make it a little more obvious that we're together. Like maybe every now and then, we can hold hands when we walk home or one of can randomly say that the other is cute when they do something we think is cute…. Or maybe this stuff is still too embarrassing for us," he rambled.

"No, I think they're great ideas!" I smiled. We walked home with hands held and blushed faces. I didn't think it was possible, but I think I just fell in love with Kyo even more.

_Scene break: at home making RICE BALLS! _

"**WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS CRAP?!**" shouted Kyo, "Are you trying to turn this place into a rice ball shop?" Tohru and have been up since early in the morning making a bunch of rice balls.

"We decided to start making rice balls. It's pretty fun; you want to help Kyo?" I asked.

He shook his head and picked a rice ball. Just as he was about to bite into it I screamed, "STOP!"

"What?" he said while raising an eyebrow at me. "That's leek flavored," I reply.

"WHY WOULD YOU EVEN MAKE THIS CRAP?" he yelled.

Tohru tried to explain the concept of the "hit or miss" deal we were doing. He ended up just getting more pissed off and making his own rice ball.

"WOW KYO! You're really good at making rice balls. If someone devoted their entire life to making rice balls, I think they would definitely look up to you!" exclaimed Tohru. (Face-palm moment)

"Where the HELL are you gonna find someone like that? I mean come on, that's a little far-fetched dontcha think?" Kyo said.

"Kyo, it still doesn't change the fact that it's admirable," I said, probably just as Tohru was thinking it.

His head turned a little to where he could see me out of the corner of his eye. He blushed a little as he went to sit at the table.

"We're all out of rice, so I'll run to the store real quick and buy some. I'll be back in a few minutes," Tohru said as she winked at me.

What was that all about? Why'd she wink? Since she's not here, I might as well tell him the admirable qualities are "on his back".

"Kyo, maybe the reason you can't see all the good stuff about you, is because it's all stuck to your back," I suddenly proclaimed.

"What?" Kyo gave me a confused look.

"It's like a rice ball with salmon on the back. The admirable qualities are the salmon and the person is the rice ball. So all over the world you have rice balls made with all sorts of different, amazing ingredients; all different flavors, shapes and colors. But since it's tuck in the middle of everyone's' back, someone could have some salmon and not even know it. They'd look at themselves and think, "I'm so plain; I'm nothing but white rice!" but that's not true because turn them around and sure enough, there it is. There's the salmon. So if someone is jealous of someone else's salmon, well that's probably because it's easier to see the salmon on someone else's back than on their own," I lectured.

I pointed to his back, "Yep, there it is. I can see it clear as day! You might not know it Kyo but you have salmon on your back. You have you own way of being admirable and so does Yuki."

A few minutes passed before anything happened. Kyo suddenly bursts out laughing, "You really like salmon rice balls don't you! I guess it really IS the only kind of rice ball you've tried."

I laughed along with him. When you think about it, it IS kind of funny. Who would say there's salmon on your back? I guess I should've stuck with pickled plum.

When I finally stopped laughing, I looked over at Kyo who was blushing for some reason. "You have some too…. Maybe we would be able to see it better if we told each other the admirable qualities we think the other has," he said hesitantly.

"Okay, I'll go first. Kyo, you're good at fighting!" I exclaim.

"You're considerate," he replies.

My turn: "You're kind."

His turn: "You're easy to talk to."

This went on for a while until it was finally his turn again and he said, "You're cute and I love you."

I felt my face grow warm as he leaned in and kissed me on my cheek. Then, without saying another word, he walked upstairs, leaving me to sit on the floor.

Tohru walked in and sat behind me. "How long have you been here?" I asked.

"I never left. I wanted you and Kyo to spend some alone time with each other. I WAS planning on waiting outside for a bit but, I really wanted to hear what you two would talk about. I'm sorry I eavesdropped. I also wanted to confirm you two were going out so I also eavesdropped on you two the other day at the rooftop. SORRY!" Tohru rambled.

GAH! And now I feel bad for thinking Tohru and Kyo were going to fall in love and leave me behind. I feel so stupid. "Tohru, I'll forgive you if you forgive me," I answer.

"Huh?" she asks.

"I thought you two would get together and then leave me behind. I feel really bad about it now. After all, you are much nicer than me and you would make a perfect girlfriend for someone like Kyo, unlike me. I guess I got jealous. I'm terribly sorry," I reply.

She smiles at me, "It's okay. It's kind of like you said, you can't see you admirable qualities because they're on your back. It's just easier to see my qualities because you can easily see my back."

I laughed, "I guess you're right!"

_Scene Break: Festival time! _

"What's the deal with all this "Cat boy" crap? You trying to make fun of me or something?!" Kyo shouted. The guys in our class have come up with a new nickname for Kyo, on account of all those cats surrounding him last week.

"It seems you can't go on fooling everyone anymore Kyo. You talk and act tough but the truth is, you're just a big softie who loves cats," I teased.

"Not you too!" he whined.

"That's right, and you can't fool us either, Cat lover," one guy said.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?" I replied.

"That's right, we all saw you two holding hands while walking to school. You can't fool us anymore. You two are actually dating aren't you?" another guy asks.

Both mine and Kyo's faces turned bright red. We couldn't really speak so Tohru quickly stepped in. "Yep, these two are going out. They're just too shy to say anything so to make it a little more obvious they held hands to school today. Don't they make a cute couple?" she said as she grabbed both of our hands and forced us to hold hands.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AA?! I don't think so! YOU CAN'T DATE OUR PRECIOUS JESSI WITHOUT PERMISSION!" Uo roared as Hana glared intensely at Kyo.

Everyone quieted down as we heard someone clap. It was Yuki. "Everyone please calm down. We still need to make a few preparations before the event starts."

"Speaking of preparations," an older girl steps in with another girl next to her.

"Oh YUKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII III," they say at the same time.

They held up a pink dress with a white cardigan over it. "All the senior girls chipped in to buy this for you. Isn't it cute? You should wear it during the festival…. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeease?" the girl on the left asked.

They waited for an answer as Yuki mentally tumbled into a dark abyss.

_Scene break_

People rushed in like a mob of angry villagers with pitchforks and fire. Only they didn't have pitchforks or fire… and they weren't angry either. Rumors went flying around the school that Yuki Sohma was wearing a dress. Of course that led to even MORE people to crowd into our class.

"These rice balls are selling so well, we might even get first place in the food department!" the vice president voiced.

"It's because Jessi-chan makes the best rice balls!" exclaimed Tohru.

"Thanks but I don't think the people really came here for the rice balls. We just happen to be convenient right now as they look at Yuki in a dress. But I AM glad these are selling. In fact, we're almost running out," I worried.

Yuki looked over at me and glared for about two seconds, then looked at the ground as people continued to take pictures.

Did I upset him by saying that somehow? I was only telling the truth. I hope he doesn't stay angry at me for too long. Now that I think about it, Yuki and I haven't talked in a while. At least not a real conversation like we had that one time.

"Do you guys think I hurt Yuki by saying that?" I asked the classmates around me.

"Let 'em be hurt. Who cares? He's just embarrassed because he has to wear a dress. You see, he has a serious complex with his GIRLY FACE and all," laughed Kyo.

All of a sudden we heard someone shout, "YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKIIII IIIIIIII!"

A small and delicate figure jumped and landed on Yuki's shoulders.

It was Momiji Sohma: a boy who looks AND dresses like a girl, but believe me, when he DOES dress like a guy (in manga) he looks like he could be a pairing with Tohru. He adores cute things and people. He is kind hearted and has a sad story that goes along with him, but believes it's better to remember than to forget. He doesn't look like he can withstand pain, but believe me, he's suffered. Yet he always has a reason to smile. MOMIJI FANGIRL RANT OVER!

"You look like a girl Yuki," teased Momiji.

"Momiji, you shouldn't run off like that," a voice piped up behind Yuki.

Hitori Sohma: Not only is his heart now a block of ice, but his gaze feels like it can give you frostbite and you don't even want to KNOW what it feels like when he glares. He also has a sad story to go along with him. But then again, a lot of the zodiac members do. All of them do I think. Hitori is a sophisticated man who is very smart. Sometimes his intentions can seem unclear, but he never means any harm. HITORI FANGIRL RANT OVER!

(What you expect me to do a rant for Momiji and NOT for Hitori too? Rants are must!)

"Yuki, Kyo, you both seems to be doing fine," Hitori said.

Suddenly a swarm of Yuki fangirls swarmed Yuki, Momiji, and Hitori. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! You know Yuki!" "Ah, so handsome," the crowd of girls screamed.

"Hello, I am Momiji Sohma and this is Hitori Sohma. We are relatives of Kyo and Yuki. How do you do?" Momiji introduced himself.

"UGH! I get why Hitori is here but why does Momiji have to be here too?" griped Kyo.

"Oh it can't be that bad. Momiji is so cute! Makes me wanna hug him!" I exclaimed. Kyo crossed his arms and glared at me. "What?" I asked, but I was ignored.

Hitori got out a stethoscope and instructed Yuki to breathe. "Do you really have to examine me here in front of EVERYONE?" asked Yuki.

"Now you know better than to skip your monthly check-up," pressed Hitori.

"Check-up? Yuki does this mean you're not feeling well? Are you okay?" I worried.

"Uh… Ah, no I'm fine Miss Smith," reassured.

"Miss… Smith?" I copied. I looked down at the ground to try and hide my sad expression. I can't believe he's back to calling me Miss Smith. Is he trying to imply we are no longer friends? Is this all because I commented on the dress he was wearing? I know Hitori was saying something but I just couldn't focus on that right now. I'm just upset. Would saying sorry get me out of this?

A scream interrupted my thoughts, "Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Don't sit on the stand! It'll break!"

"What're you doing you moron?" shouted Kyo. Kyo grabbed Momiji by his shoulders and continuously tried to pry him off the table, but he wouldn't budge.

I ran over to the two boys fighting. "You're causing a scene. Please stop," I whispered. But of course, I was ignored. Momiji stood atop of the stand and clung onto the top while Kyo was tugging on Momiji's blouse. Momiji finally gave up and got down. He sat on his knees crying as Kyo hit him. "Stay put! You shouldn't climb on that; we worked hard to build it!" shouted Kyo.

"Honestly Kyo, you don't have to hit him. He was just having fun," I scolded.

"AH! Your Jessica Smith right?" exclaimed Momiji.

I nodded in confirmation. "Well I'm Mo-."

I cut him off, "You're Momiji Sohma."

"You remembered my name?" asked Momiji as his eyes grew wider.

"Of course did. How could I forget the name of the cutest little boy I've ever seen?" I replied as I ruffled his hair.

"Jessi-chan, you already know about the Zodiac curse, right?" asked Momiji.

"Of course I do," I answered.

"Then it must be okay for me to hug you!" he leaped out at me, and just before he hugged me, Kyo grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

"Just what do you think you're doing? YOU CAN'T HUG HER!" Kyo shouted.

"Eh? But Jessi doesn't mind if I transform," Momiji pleaded. "You're just trying to keep her all to yourself. I bet you hug her every day! Selfish Kyo!" Momiji shouted.

Kyo suddenly let go of Momiji and blushed. "Yippee!" cried Momiji as he flung himself towards me. POOF! A could of fog appeared around us and next thing I knew, I had the cutest little rabbit in my lap! Too bad I couldn't enjoy that for a while longer.

The class started freaking out. They opened the curtain we were standing behind and their eyes went straight to Momiji's clothes and the rabbit.

"Ehhhhh? Aren't these Momiji's clothes? Does that mean he's running around somewhere naked? Is this sort of magic trick? Why is there a rabbit here?" asked Yuki fangirl #1.

"Still, I'm much weirder than all of that. Look at me, a man in woman's clothing, how disgraceful," cried Yuki as a sea of people rushed over to him.

I grabbed Momiji and his clothes and ran for it! I'll thank Yuki for the distraction later.

"You little brat, do you have any idea what you've just done?" yelled Kyo.

"You're grounded for a week," announced Hitori.

"Aw, come on guys. Don't be so mean to Momiji. He doesn't know any better!" I held Momiji (bunny form) in my arms.

"Why are you sticking up for him? He should be punished since he just transformed on purpose in front of a whole bunch of people!"

"But Kyoooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooo… how can you possibly punish a kid so cute. Look at him," I said as I pushed Momiji up to Kyo's face.

He shoved Momiji back to me and didn't reply.

"Well, this time we were saved by Yuki…" mumbled Hitori.

"Hehe, acting like a girl is his hobby," laughed Kyo.

As soon as he said that, Yuki punched him into the air and sent him flying. "Next time I'll send you flying so high, you'll hit the moon!" threatened Yuki.

"Damn rat," mumbled Kyo.

"Next time be more careful Momiji," Yuki lectured as he leaned over Momiji.

"Let's go home Momiji," Hitori said.

"Already? But I wanna stay with Jessi and play!" whined Momiji.

"Go home already!" shouted Kyo, but we ignored that comment.

"Ah, I forgot to do something," Hitori realized as he turned to face Kyo and Yuki, "Kyo, Yuki… I'm going to ask you a very important question so please answer honestly."

Yuki and Kyo prepared themselves to hear some bad news. "What is the last letter of the alphabet?"

"Z," they both replied as Hitori snapped a quick picture of them. "Akito wanted a pictures of you both," Hitori explained as he walked away, carrying the rabbit Momiji with him.

"HI-TO-RI! HOLD IT RIGHT THERE YOU JERK!" Kyo roared as he chased after Hitori and Momiji.

I realized I was finally alone with Yuki. Now I can apologize.

I turned to face Yuki. "Yuki…. I'm sorry for saying people were only coming to see you in a dress!" I exclaimed while bowing.

"Eh? What do you mean? I'm not mad at you," Yuki reassured.

"Yes you are! You were so mad at me you glared at me and even called me Miss Smith to imply we were no longer friends," I cried.

"I wasn't glaring at you it's just… I was embarrassed that you saw me in a dress. I thought after seeing me in such a thing, surely you wouldn't want to be friends with me any longer. I should be the one apologizing Jessi-san. I want to be friends with you for as long as I live… if you would like," he explained.

Yuki wasn't really ever mad at me? YAY! Of course I was worrying over nothing, that's what I do! "I'm so happy! I want to be friends with you forever too! And Yuki…. A friend is someone who is there through the bad, sad, rough, and even embarrassing times. If someone can't be with you over something as silly as wearing a dress, they don't deserve to be your friend!" I exclaimed.

He started to unbutton the dress. "Yuki, you'll catch a cold if you do that!" I cried.

"It's better than being in this dress though," he replied.

"Even though you were embarrassed, everyone thought you looked cute Yuki!" I said.

"There's nothing good about a guy being called cute! I should have refused from the start," he argued.

"Oh…. I guess it's different for guys. Still, when I'm called cute, it makes me happy. I thought it might make you happy too," I replied.

"Even though I KNOW you're talking about Kyo, your words always seem to make me feel better. By the way…. Uh…. Can you help me take this off? The buttons keep getting stuck in my hair," laughed Yuki.

I smiled, "I guess it's a difficult dress to wear AND take off, huh?"

"Yeah, but I think it would look a lot cuter on you," Yuki replied, "It would look even CUTER on that girl in the same class as Miss Jones. What was her name again? Bethany Emerson?"

"WHAAAAT? Are you saying you, Yuki Sohma, has a crush on a girl?" I teased.

"It's not like it's impossible. I mean, YOU'RE dating KYO," Yuki laughed.

We talked and laughed for a while longer. But the whole time I was up there with Yuki, I felt a familiar set of eyes watching me.

_scene break_

"Did you get the camera?" asked Yuki. Kyo shook his head in defeat.

"Jessi-san, make sure you, Miss Jones, and Miss Honda stay away from Hitori. He's the one who always erased people's minds. You three should avoid being along with him at all costs," lectured Yuki.

"Casey Jones from Class 2-D please come to the front office," the disembodied voice blasted through the speakers.

Maybe Hitori had asked to talk to Casey instead of me or Tohru. I didn't think they even had a chance to meet but I guess I was wrong.

"I should get going," announced Yuki. I waved goodbye as I watched Yuki walk out of the room, leaving me and Kyo all alone.

Just as Kyo stood up out of his chair, he slipped on a bit of rice ball someone had left. "AH DAMMIT!" he shouted.

I laughed at how clumsy he was. "Hahaha Kyo, you're so cute when you're clumsy," I teased.

"Oh, like Momiji kind of cute or Yuki kind of cute?" he asked in an angry tone.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"You know what I mean. You were flirting with Momiji by calling him cute. And every time you're alone with Yuki, all you do is smile. But when you're with me, you barely even look me in the eyes. You don't flirt with me like most couples do. I always put myself out there and flirt with you or kiss you. I always make the first move. I'm beginning to think you don't really love me as much as you say you do. Why don't you show me the same faces you show Yuki?" he said.

"I just said you were cute didn't I? How did we even get to the point where you think I don't love you? Why can't you look at this from my point of view? Kyo, I'm not as confident as you in this. I…. I can't believe you don't think I love you," I replied. At this point I could barely talk because tears where pouring down my face.

"I'm just saying….. I wish you would stop flirting with Yuki and Momiji," he mumbled.

I slapped him across the face. He seemed pretty shocked. "Idiot! I never flirted with them. You're the only one I love," I ran out when my tears ceased to stop flowing. I can't believe he thought I would flirt with someone else when I'm with Kyo.

I stopped when I realized where I was running. I was going in the direction on the small park that I've always went to. I can't go there right now though. It's too obvious that I would go there. I quickly took a left, into the forest nearby.

I sat under a giant tree and tried my best to calm myself. Then I started to think. I did the same thing Kyo just did. I got jealous because I thought Kyo was falling for Tohru and he got Jealous because he thought I was flirting. AHHH! I'm a total hypocrite. I wonder if he would've reacted the way I reacted. He probably would cry. He would most likely yell and run off. He definitely wouldn't have slapped me. I feel so pathetic now. I can't believe I actually slapped Kyo. How did we go to two people who just loved each other and tried to overcome any obstacle they faced, to two people who say they love each other but believe the other is cheating? If we just made up, would everything be fine again? Would it go back to being the perfect relationship? Of course not because no relationship is actually perfect I guess. Will we become stronger or will we fall apart? I just want things to go back to the way they were!

**So how was that? Yeah I know I haven't updated in a while but a lot of things have been going on. If you ACTUALLY want to know, you can message me or ask in your review. I would like to thank all the people who have reviewed my story:**

• **Sky's Breaker**

•**icookieness**

•**BlissCat**

•**Smiley**

•**Bethany**

•**Dia8Buyo**

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•**AirBendingDragonOfNarnia**

•**Kang-Hyena**

•**wolf of the wind **

**You are the reasons I keep writing, in hopes of reading your reviews again **** Please, if you're reading this, review saying what you think about my story. It means a lot to me and I appreciate your input! **


	8. They're the same

Casey: You're all probably wondering right now, "Did the author die or something? It's been, like, forever since the last chapter!" Well kids, let's see!

*Casey pokes me with a stick* Remember kids, It's never truly dead until you poke it with a stick!

Me: I'm not dead! There's so many good anime's and manga's I can read! I don't know when to stop! It's so much more fun than the real world and its problems and hassles (like responsibility)!

Casey: I think you need Otaku rehab and some therapy… Mostly Therapy.

3rd POV with Casey: (Actually it's more of what people see her as…Idk)

Casey Jones walked down to the front office as the woman had instructed her to do over the speaker. She guessed Hitori Sohma would be there to greet her and inform her on how her, Tohru, and Jessi WILL be coming to see him. Casey was always the cool and calm girl who could get out of any situation, unlike her best friend Jessi. Sure, Casey could be grumpy at times (when napping, which is all the time) but she would always pull through, in a super cool-like-way. Good grades, good looks (she's symmetrical in every way), and a cool personality to go with her. Casey was also the one who usually had the crushes and Jessi would butt-in and start planning her wedding, but now, they'd switched positions.

She finally walked in to the office. She calmly walked over to Hitori. She was the brave Casey Jones, so meeting Hitori Sohma was no big deal (although I can't guarantee this would be her reaction to meeting Haru Sohma).

"Sorry I had to get the front office to call you. I'm Hitori. I know we've just met, but I couldn't call the other girls here or else Kyo and Yuki might get suspicious," he said.

"Let me guess, you're a Sohma?" Casey asked, even though she obviously already knew the answer.

"Yes, how'd you know?" he replied.

"You just give off this feeling of a Sohma….. And you DID talk about Kyo and Yuki. I'm not an idiot," she calmly answered. Casey's coolness often comes out what you would call "snobby" or "just plain rude" but she didn't mean to be that way.

"Guess not…. Right to the point then; here's the address to the Sohma estate, I want you and the other two to come by when you're all free. I have a very important matter to discuss. Of course, it goes without saying you must NOT speak of this to Yuki or Kyo, nor are you allowed to refuse my request," he lectured.

"Got it," she quickly replied.

"When you tell Tohru and Jessi this, please tell them not to worry! Hitori isn't as scary as he seems," Momiji suddenly popped up behind Casey.

Casey laughed, "Of course there's no need to worry, because I'll be there! Oh and Hitori….."

"Hmm?" he said as he faced her.

"Your bangs are totally unsymmetrical. That's so uncool," she said as she left the room.

Casey had watched the anime Soul eater and ever since then, she's always tried her best to make everything about her and her friends symmetrical. She obviously thought DTK had a good sense when it came to stuff about being perfect. Symmetry, Symmetry, Symmetry! She also liked how cool soul was. Eventually she came to love symmetry and act cool all the time (well, most of the time). She couldn't quiet perfect souls' coolness so she just made her own type.

_Scene break: 1st person POV still Casey: walking through the woods_

After that meeting with Hitori I decided to go and take a walk in the woods. There's nothing weird about casually walking into the woods after school. It's PERFECTLY normal. Wouldn't it be so cool if slender man popped up somewhere though?! Of course that's not the kind of thing I would say out loud…. How UNCOOL would THAT be? I'm PERFECTLY cool and PERFECTLY PERFECT (not really), so I can't just say the things like that. Otherwise people might come near me. That only leads to a destructive path so I'm okay with just watching stuff happen from afar, unlike Jess.

_A pause from the narrator_

So to be perfectly clear, Casey isn't REALLY cool. She just acts it. To be honest, she's more of a girl who can be talking about one thing and start rambling. Have you noticed her favorite word is perfect yet? The true Casey is actually quiet… how do I put this nicely? Strange….. Yes, that's the nicest way to put it. Let's hope the REAL Casey isn't reading this….. She might hit the author.

Me: Oh no….. What HAVE I done?

_Back to the story!_

As I slowly walked past the first set of trees, I felt a strong wind blow right past me. It felt as if it was telling me to keep going forward, like there was something I needed to see. Yes, the wind was talking to me, and that's PERFECTLY normal in my case.

I stopped walking when I passed a giant tree and heard someone crying. As I looked around I realized it was Jessi.

"Jess!? Are you okay? Come on dude, you can't cry. You're the hero, remember? Come on, tell me what's wrong," I worried.

I sat and listened patiently as she filled me in on what's been going on with her and Kyo. I should have gotten mad that she never officially told me they were dating but, I kind of saw it coming.

"That's me though, right? I worry over nothing. I'm not confident. And on top of all that, I'm a hypocrite! I can't believe I slapped Kyo. I want to run to him and apologize, but I can't. Not when I have at least a shred of dignity left in me. How would that look like? For someone to do something wrong, make the other person think THEY did something wrong, and then run back apologizing. I'm such an idiot!" she cried.

I let her cry for a while so I could gather my thoughts and tell her exactly what I thought.

"I completely agree…. You truly are an idiot. But I think you're an idiot for a different reason than you do. What do you mean you can't believe you slapped him? I would've slapped him too if I was in your situation. If you want to apologize, then do it! Who cares if you look like an idiot, if you truly love him then it doesn't matter. Besides he should apologize too, ya know? Aren't you the one who's always telling me to follow my heart, even if my brain says the opposite? When it comes to love you shouldn't have to make rational decisions. Jessi, this is your first time at love, so of course it's not going to be all puppies (or should I say kittens) and rainbows. People do crazy things and think crazy things when it comes to love. This is how a relationship goes. You get into arguments and then you make up! Don't give up just because of a fight. In love, you shouldn't just be there for the good times. Stay there for the bad times too, because eventually, it all turns out alright. That's what you would tell me when I would have problems. Follow your own advice! You both still love each other so get over this petty fight and get on with your life!" I lectured.

I paused for a moment. "Ugh, I can't believe I'm sitting here lecturing you about love. I was totally rambling. That's so uncool of me. And would you look at that! AHH! And my hair's totally unsymmetrical! I'm ASYMMETRICAL TRASH!" I yelled.

Jessi laughed, "Casey, there's no need to put on that act of being cool and calm. I already know that you're quiet the ODD character. And…. How can you possibly know your hair is "unsymmetrical" when you can't even see yourself?"

"I CAN JUST SENSE IT!" I shouted. Ha….. I'm such a fool. To think, I ACTUALLY thought I could always keep up the act of being cool to push people away. It worked for a while, but that all ended when I met Jess… No matter how much I tried to put up that "so cool no one comes near me" act, I could never get rid of Jess. She's the only one who saw through that act. After a while, I couldn't keep my cool act up around her. We just became friends. Then I ended up in Fruits Basket and met Bethany Emerson and Elena Adams. They saw through my act just like Jessi. I don't want more friends though. Having more people around me just makes it all the more easier to hurt me. I hate being hurt by someone I trust. That's the absolute worst! I won't let that happen again. Never. Again.

_Scene brake: 3rd person POV: at home_

Kyo suddenly busted the door open.

"Hey you guys, she's gone! I can't find her anywhere! Where's Jessi?" He shouted.

"Can you at least pretend to care about where the other girls are too? If you were listening she said her and the girls were going to their new friends house…. I think she's in the same class as Casey and her name is… Ummmm… What was it again?" Shigure asked turning to Yuki.

"I believe her name was Elena Adams," corrected Yuki, "Honestly, am I the only one in this house who listens?"

Shigure shrugged in reply.

"She can't be gone today…. I was going to try and apologize today," thought Kyo.

"Why do you need to know where she is 24/7? Or were you planning on apologizing to her today?" glared Yuki.

"How did you know we were in a fight?" asked Kyo

"The other day, after the festival, she seemed upset. Of course she tried to hide it, but let's face it: she's no good at acting like everything's okay when it's not. It was only a guess that you were the one who caused her to feel pain," Yuki replied in a-matter-of-fact-kind-of-way. Yuki looked at Kyo in disgust. "If you ever make Jessi-san upset or cry again… There's no telling what I'll do to you," Yuki threatened.

And with that, Kyo turned and ran out of the house to hide up on the roof. "I didn't mean to hurt her. I'm so sorry Jessi," he whispered to himself.

_Scene break: Jessica: 1st person POV: The main house with Tohru and Casey_

"It's so big!" exclaimed Tohru, pointing to the door.

"They seem like a pretty rich family. It must be nice!" I laughed.

"Too bad we couldn't tell Kyo or Yuki about coming here, especially after what they said about being alone with him," worried Tohru.

"Were you eavesdropping again?" I questioned. I didn't have a problem that she eavesdropped; I was just hoping she didn't hear my argument with Kyo. I planned on apologizing to him but…. I just never got around to it. I know, I know. It sounds like I'm totally putting it off, but I swear I didn't do it on purpose. At least it hasn't been a week... Yet.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to eavesdrop this time I swear! I was just casually walking back into class because I forgot something when I heard everyone talking," she cried.

"It's no problem really. Did you hear anything else after Yuki left?" I asked.

She nodded and looked down in reply. I didn't have to ask what she heard. It's pretty obvious.

"HI!" Momiji popped up over the fence and waved towards us. "You're right on time. Go ahead and let yourself in."

Casey pushed open the door and calmly walked in. AGH! Not with the cool act again!

"Come in! Come in! WELCOME to the house of Sohma!" Momiji said happily.

"Nice place ya got here, Momiji," Casey said.

"Ya, it kind of look like a little town. I guess the Sohmas' really ARE a rich family," I replied.

The side of Casey's fist hit the top of my head suddenly. "OUCH! What was that for?" I asked.

She leaned in towards me, wrapped her arm around my neck and forced me to lean in too. "You can't just walk into someone's house and say they're rich. It's totally rude!" Casey whispered.

"Come on, I'll show you the way to Hitori's house," Momiji said.

He gestured to a house on the left for us to go in.

"Oh, you're all right on time. Good, please come in and make yourself at home," he said.

I think Hitori is cool and all, but I don't really feel comfortable around him all the time. He's just giving off this uncomfortable vibe. But I think after today, it should stop. Maybe it just feels like this because he thinks we don't understand him well yet. I looked on Hitori's shelf and spotted a picture that looked as if it was trying to hide itself in the shadows. It must be Kana.

I looked over at Tohru, who was moving around and looked ill. She must be over thinking about how she might have offended him somehow; which is kind of impossible in the short amount of time they've known each other.

"Tohru, are you okay? Maybe you should have Hitori have a look at you. He's a doctor, after all," Momiji said.

"Oh no, I'm fine!" Tohru exclaimed.

"While it's true that I AM a doctor, my skills are only available to the Sohma family…. And I should say Akito in particular. He suffers a frequent illness and requires much of my time," Hitori said.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. What's his illness called?" I asked.

"So my time is valuable… Right to the point then?" he replied.

I nodded in reply, ignoring the fact that he totally just dodged my question.

"Even in the Sohma family itself, there are very few who know about the curse. It's truly rare that a complete outsider, like you three, would come to learn of it and not have your memory erased. But…. Thus far, Akito has made an exception in your case... Tell me, do you like living there?" Hitori asked.

"Of course we do! Kyo, Yuki, and even Shigure treat us really well. They're really wonderful people and we're all thankful to them for letting us live there. We're even thankful Akito let us keep our memories. There's no telling where we would all be if it weren't for everyone," I replied.

"All the more reason you should all just leave. It would be best for all of you, if you just left. Leave Shigures' house and return to your own families. That's only reasonable, is it not? I doubt anyone would tell you, but there are many dark secrets that lie within the Sohma family. An evil shadow looms over this family… that is the nature of our curse. Before you start to regret living with the Sohmas, leave them. Try your best to forget everything about us," He answered.

"It's true Tohru could just go back to her family, but where would we go? Apparently you haven't been made aware of OUR situation. We've forgotten about our families and where we lived. Why should the Sohma family having dark secrets have ANYTHING to do with us living there? So there may be bad times involving the curse, but that's how it is. That's life, and we're living' it! There may be things we regret, but meeting the Sohma's and being able to live there… That's something that we'll never regret! We've all gotten close to them. Backing out now would hurt them more than it would hurt us. Hurting people close to you… It's…. It's the absolute worst thing ever!" Casey shouted.

Hitori seemed a bit shocked by Casey's answer. A few seconds of silence passed by until Momiji said something. "I'm going to take them for a walk in the garden… that's okay right?" Momiji asked. We didn't wait for a reply. Instead, we just casually fast-walked outside, following Momiji of course.

I was surprised by how forceful she was being about this. I never expected her to get so heated by what he said. She's starting to break the barrier she put up. The barrier called "Coolness". I'm so proud of her. It looks like I'll be able to watch her act like her normal self in front of people more often. She can be happy this way. The wall she's built up over the years is slowly crumbling. She may not be as "safe" as she was before, but its better this way. It's like the saying goes, "It's better to have love, then lost, than to not have love at all." Something along the lines of that….

"It's quiet isn't it?" Momiji asked.

"Yea," I replied.

"That's because everyone's gone to get ready for New Years,"

"That's cool, I guess," Casey replied.

We walked for a while until we got to Momiji's "favorite spot." It looked like a small pond with a few rocks sticking up from the ground. We all sat on the porch near it. I had to admit, it was really pretty. The view was great and it was also quiet. Maybe that's just because no one's here.

"Did you know that Hitori can only see out of one of his eyes?" asked Momiji.

"No, I didn't. Why's that?" I lied.

"Hitori had a girlfriend once named Kana. She worked as his assistant for a while. From what I remember, she was really nice. When she found out about the zodiac curse on Hitori, it didn't even bother her. She just laughed about it. They were engaged and they WERE going to get married, but…. They went to tell Akito about it, and he got really really angry. He said he wouldn't allow it. I guess that's when his temper got out of control because that's when he hurt Hitoris' eye. Hitori didn't blame Akito though. And Kana blamed herself. She was convinced that Hitori getting hurt was all her fault. Her guilt gradually began to eat her away inside. Then he did the only thing her could do: he erased her memories. He couldn't stand to watch her be in so much pain. So he made her forget that they ever fell in love. Kana left and Hitori cried. In spite of all that though, he never once blamed Akito," Momiji replied.

"Why?" Casey asked.

"Well, that's the curse. That's why I can understand a little what Hitori feels. He doesn't want anyone to end up like Kana. He doesn't want you three to be hurt," Momiji replied.

Tohru started to cry. Momiji leaned over to her. "Tohru, are you okay? Was it me? Please don't cry. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry!" Momiji worried.

"No, I think she's just crying because we were all a little worried about coming here. But the whole time, he was only worrying about us. He was just being kind. I think he's a little like her," I said, pointing to Casey.

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Hitori and Casey don't want outsiders to get too close. They don't like getting hurt or for others to get hurt. They're both the same," I replied with a smile, knowing Hitori was hiding behind the door, listening to our conversation.

"I see…. I'll go get something to warm us up okay?" Momiji said as he walked away.

I looked up at the sky and realized something.

"Oh, it's snowing!" Tohru said.

I smiled as I thought of Kana's quote from the anime. "When the snow melts, what does it become?" she would ask. The answer most people would say is "It becomes water, of course." But that wasn't the answer. Nope, it was something better than that.

My thoughts came to a close when Casey tapped at my shoulder. "Lost in thought yet again Jess?" she asked as I laughed. "Well, while you were in your own little world, Tohru and Hitori were sent flying off the porch," Casey said.

"Wouldn't it be better to leave Hitori in the pond?" I asked.

"Idiot… That's no pond, it's just a bunch of snow!" she replied.

I looked closer and realized it really wasn't a pond! Aaaaaaaagh! I'm so dense sometimes!

_Flashback into Hitori's' life_

When Kana became Hitori's assistant, he made sure to keep her at distance. Over time though, they began to fall in love. Everything was going great. While it was true, Hitori WAS cold (as cold as snow, metaphorically) Kana had become his warmth in which melted him. He could laugh and smile with her. When he turned into his form (a seahorse) Kana didn't care. She still loved him. "I'm glad I met you," she had said. It was like a dream for Hitori and Kana. But all dreams have to end.

They went to plead to Akito to let them marry, but he refused. He went full-blown-rage. He began smashing stuff. He threw a Vase towards Hitori that broke. A shard of the vase went flying at his eye. Blood went everywhere. Akito rushed to Hitori. "Hitori, are you okay? Hitori?" Akito asked.

Akito stood and pointed towards Kana, "You! This is all YOUR fault! Look at what you've done! You're worthless! Do you think you can break the curse? If you can't break the curse you're worthless! Pathetic! Worthless!" Kana could never forget the words Akito had shouted. It was all her fault; that's what she believed.

Hitori would try and console her, but she would just crumble to the floor crying. It was no use; they could not return to the happy live they lived before. It was all over. Hitori decided to erase her memory of him. It would be better that way. She would no longer have to suffer because of him. "It would have been better… if we never met," she said. What happened to "I'm glad I met you?" how could this have crumbled so quickly?

The pain was unbearable when he erased her memory. Her last words to him where, "I'm sorry, I couldn't forget you."

After that, Hitori knew that day he had to live the rest of his life as the frozen snow. That way, the dream they had together would never melt away.

_Back to the present_

"Oh, he's waking up," Casey announced.

"Sorry we could only cover you up in our coats. We didn't have anything else," I said.

He looked over at Tohru, who was holding a picture of Kana while praying.

"Ah, sorry I took it without asking," she said.

We all turned around so he could get dressed. When he was done, he walked out to the porch with us and stared at the falling snow.

"Tell me, when the snow melts, what does it become?" he asks even though he knows the true answer.

I reply with Kana's answer, "It becomes spring of course." I wait a while to say more. "Even though it's so cold right now, the snow will always eventually melt. It just needs the warmth," I add on.

"Low and behold, there they are!" a voice calls towards us. It was Shigure. "I was looking for you all. Imagine my surprise when I found a little lost bunny instead," he laughed as he pulled out Momiji from behind him.

"Sorry it took so long. I brought drinks!" Momiji chuckled. Shigure rose up a drink to each of us and threw one Hitori's way.

"So what brings you here?" Hitori asked.

"I suddenly had this feeling the girls where here and needed a rescue. Call it a "Writer's intuition" if you will," he replied.

"That's a lie," he shot back.

"Don't let these two fool ya, they've been arguing since they were kids," Momiji reassured Tohru.

I can't wait to get home. More than anything in the world…. I want to… I want to be with Kyo. I want to apologize and I want us to go back to being happy.

_Scene break: back at home_

"We're home!" I exclaimed as we all walked into the house.

Casey yawned, "I think it's time for me to go to bed! See you guys tomorrow."

I looked over at Yuki and Kyo. They'd fallen asleep at the table. I wonder if they were waiting for us.

I walked over to Kyo. "Kyo…. Kyo, wake up. We need to talk," I said as I shook him.

"Mmmhhhm, what?" he said sleepily, but he didn't open his eyes or get up.

Gosh he's so hard to wake up! But still…. His sleeping face is super cute.

**Audience: Jessi is a pervert! A pervert! A pervert!**

**ME: I am NOT a pervert! **

I finally got tired of waiting so I grabbed him by the arms and dragged him outside. When he hit the cold concrete, he finally woke up.

"WHAT THE?" he shouted when he realized he was outside.

"Sorry, but I needed to talk to you. And you weren't waking up when I shook you. I didn't know how else to wake you," I laughed nervously. Actually, I DID know another way to wake him up, but that'd be WAY too embarrassing.

He stood up and dusted the imaginary dirt off of his pants. "I've… ben meaning to talk to you," he said, "I-."

I put my hand over his mouth so he couldn't talk. "We can't talk here. Follow me," I replied. I had the feeling Tohru was on the other side of the door, listening to our conversation.

We walked to the park nearby. It was a place that held some good memories. I haven't been able to come here for a while because of the stuff happening around me. It was where it pretty much all began (Kyo and me). If there's one place in the world I can go to with Kyo, this would be it.

As we were walking, I couldn't help but realize the awkwardness that had surrounded us. I sat in the old red swing I always used to sit in. He sat in the one next to me of course. "I wanted to apologize for what I did," I said, causing the tension in our silence to evaporate.

"No, I should apologize. I was stupid to think that you would flirt with someone while you were dating me. You're not that kind of girl," he replied.

"I…. I was being a hypocrite about the situation. To be honest I thought you would start to like Tohru and you would leave me. That's how it was in the manga," I replied.

"So what if it was in the manga? Since you're here, things change in the "story", right? Even if I loved her in the manga, I fell in love with you. This isn't a manga or anime anymore Jessi. Its real life," he lectured.

"I know…. I just couldn't help feel that way. Just like you felt like that. I shouldn't have slapped you. I… I'm so sorry," I cried. I would've said more, but of course, I just HAD to start crying. Stupid tears!

Kyo leaned in and wrapped his arms around me. I could only enjoy the warmth of him for a second. An orange cloud of smoke swarmed around us, leaving me with an orange cat to hug.

"I can't promise we won't ever fight again. That's how relationships are though, right? I can promise that I will never stop loving you and start loving Tohru though," he laughed.

It's amazing how much has changed since I got here. Casey is making more friends and acting more like herself. I have an amazing boyfriend. I'm taking more risks. I'm trying (not really) to be the hero of the story. And Yuki likes a girl that's not Tohru!

I wonder what else will happen. Whatever obstacle may come our way, I'm sure we will overcome it!

Hahaha, YAY! Everyone loves a cheesy ending, right? -Sarcasm at its worst. Anyways…. Until next time!

Casey: Don't you have something ELSE to say?

Me: oh yea, I do! If you liked my story (even if you don't) here are some stories that are even better: I Love You Not by Kaoru97 (Soul Eater), Lollipop by The Killer's Tears (Fruits Basket), Substitute Teachers by EmilySamara (Hetalia), and SE: Join the DWMA? Death the Kid's generous offer, SE: The new students interesting first day, SE: What did we get into by Riku Ashwood

REVIEW MY STORY!... Please?

Casey: You take all the time you want on writing a chapter and then demand reviews? What a brat :P

Me: I said please, didn't I?


	9. This is me, being a useless faliure

**Me: Hey, I'm back with another Falling into Fruits Baskets Chapter!**

**Casey: And just what have you been doing this whole time?! Give me one good excuse as to why you waited till the very last minute AGAIN.**

**Me: Why do you always need to know? **^︵^

**Casey: Because I do! Just get to writing darn it! **

**Me: You're like a scary editor, but you don't edit at all. You're just my imagination!**

**Casey: So you're arguing with yourself? **͡ ᴥ ͡

**Me: I don't know! _**

**Casey: On with the story! Kimiko does NOT own Fruits Basket. She doesn't own me either…**

**Me: Yes I do! You're an OC in my story!**

**Casey: I'll let you keep thinking that :P**

* * *

Its spring cleaning time, so here I am… Cleaning…. Yay. I'm being sarcastic, you can clearly tell by my face: T_T

I'm just dusting the surfaces and shelves for right now, so it isn't that bad. I used to do this a lot when I was in my real home. I would dust and vacuum once a week and I would wash the dishes 2 times a day, every day. By the end of the week, I would have $20. Then I would end up with about $80 by the end of the month, but I had to pay my _own_ phone bill. So really, I only had $20 out of a whole months' worth of work. Oh how I wish I still had my phone! I would play Ayakashi: Ghost Guild, My sweet Bodyguard, Ninja love, Princess, or MoteMote whenever I got bored of my laptop and the real world.

As I polished whatever the heck I was polishing, a song came to mind. I looked to see if anyone was around. I looked in the hallway, outside, and in the kitchen. I found no one. I sat back down and started polishing again. Then I started to sing the Fruits Basket theme song.

**_I was so happy when you smiled_** **_Your smile breaks through the clouds of gray _** **_Far from the sunny days that lie and sleep_**

**_Waiting with patience for the spring _** **_When the flowers will bloom renewed again_** **_Knowing there's more beyond the pain of today_**

**_Although the scars of yesterday remain_** **_You can go on living as much as your heart believes_** **_You can't be born again, although you can change_**

**_Let's stay together always_**

I stopped singing when I heard the floor creak behind me. I turned around and saw Tohru, Yuki, Kyo, Shigure, and even Casey, had crowded around me while I was singing. I guess I got so into the song that I couldn't focus on the world around me. I felt my eyes widened at the look on their faces. Casey and Tohru were smiling like an idiot. Yuki had a soft smile on his face. Shigure… he had a pedophile face… and Kyo! He was just smiling like a little boy who discovered toys for the first time!

"You sing pretty good Jessi-san," smiled Yuki.

Oh. My. Gosh! I can't believe everyone heard me sing! That's sooooo embarrassing! I quickly ran into my room and accidently slammed my door. I started to pile stuff up at the door, that way, no one can come in. I ran to look the window, locking it just in case Kyo decided to climb in here.

I never sing in front of anyone. I always make sure no one's around when I sing. There's nothing more that I want than to sing and act, maybe even write. But, there's something in my way; I can't quite put my finger on it. There's a voice in my head that screams, _"You'll just end up embarrassing yourself. Who are you kidding? You'll never be as good as the others!"_ The voice in my head is cruel. I've heard this voice so many times; it feels like it was an actual memory… But that can't be true, because I've never sang or acted in front of anyone except Casey. And only Casey has read my stories. She says they're good but I can't ever bring myself to believe her. I don't know why.

I'm just going to stay in this room for a while. Maybe everyone's already forgotten about it. I lie down on my bed and slowly fell asleep.

**_Dream_**

Blurred visions of people crossed my mind. A little girl sat in the corner crying. "Why are you crying?" I asked her. She didn't reply to me, she just kept crying. This girl looks familiar; I feel like I've seen this before. The walls were a dark grey color that matched the floor and the ceiling was cracked like it could fall at any given second. I knelt down to try and comfort her, because I couldn't just stand there and watch a little kid cry. I wrapped my arms around her and tried my best to hold her tightly, but I couldn't. Every time I touched her, I went straight through her. "What the…" I mumbled.

_"You useless child!"_ a lady yelled. I quickly turned around, scared she would yell at me; I really don't like people yelling at me. A tall old lady shadowed above us. Her eyes seem to be glaring at the child and not me. Maybe, for some reason, she can't see me. She wore a tight black knee-length skirt and a white blouse. Her nose was pointy like a bird's beak and her glasses were hot pink and half-moon shaped. She had a bun at the top of her head, holding her face together. It seemed as though one tug could send her hair tumbling down her shoulders and reveling a face full of wrinkles.

_"I'm not useless! I can be good at the things I love too…. I just have to try harder, that's all,"_ cried the little girl, who had yet to lift her head up from her hands. I suddenly lost the ability to speak. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't say a thing. I wanted to protect her, but what could I do without my speech?

_"Don't make me laugh! You'll just end up embarrassing yourself. Who are you kidding? You'll never be as good as the others!"_ The old hag scoffed.

What? What did she just say? I looked at the child with tears in my eyes. What's going on, and why does this seems so familiar? The girl lifted her face and cried, _"I can be as good as the others…. All I have to do is try harder. Then when I grow up, I can act and sing on stage. I can write novels. I'll be loved by everyone, just like all the other important people."_

I suddenly recognized the girl crying. It was me. It was me from when I was little. I had such high hopes and dreams. I wanted to be someone who could sing and have her own TV show like all my idols. I also wanted to write stories that others could read. That way, if life was ever too hard, they could turn to my books and be happy. I had hope, dreams, and a goal, but they were all destroyed by this woman. I remember now; I was so traumatized by this experience, that after a while of walking around like the dead, I could no longer remember. I pushed the memory to the back of my mind because the pain was unbearable for me to handle at such a young age. This forgotten memory of mine has finally come back.

_"HA! People who talk like that are just foolish. You'll never be good enough. No matter how hard you try, you'll never achieve your dreams. Dreams are for the weak,"_ the lady laughed.

The girl suddenly disappeared into thin air, leaving me with the evil woman. Her gaze fixated on me, sending chills down my spine. "How pathetic! After all these years, you finally decided to remember this?" she asked.

"What?" I asked, realizing I had become visible.

"You were weak then and you're weak now. Some people never change," she laughed. Her laugh was like nails on a chalkboard.

She's right…. I'll never change. I can never be as good as the others. I'm useless, pathetic, and weak. No matter how hard I try, I'll never get what I want. I'm a failure.

* * *

I awoke with a sudden pain at my side. It seems I was spazzing out and fell off my bed. I check the clock next to my bed. "I've only been asleep for an hour, so I still have time to clean…. Great," I mumbled to myself. Why now of all times, did I have to remember that? I'm trying to be a hero, so I shouldn't need saving, right? This stuff is only supposed to happen to people who need to be saved by the hero! I truly am useless. I can't do anything by myself. I moved the stuff out of the doorway and walked into the living room.

"Heave, ho! Heave, ho!" I heard people shouting. I looked over at Kyo, Shigure, Yuki, and a woman (Shigure's manager from episode 9), were trying to move the bookcase.

I walked over and grabbed the other end with Yuki. Man, this thing is heavy! I carefully tried to walk along with them while hold the bookcase. But, me being a klutz and all, I tripped over Yuki's legs and sent the bookcase toppling over. Tons of books fell out and scattered across the room. One book stood out from the rest though. The book looked more like a script because it had no cover. It looked strangely familiar.

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed.

"It's okay, just help us pick the books up," kindly replied Shigure.

I went to the farthest pile of books and started picking up from there.

After a while of picking up books, I started to feel like I was doing this by myself. I looked over and Yuki, who Kyo, Shigure, and even the strange woman had crowded around, looking at the book they picked up.

I squinted to see the writing on the book. It read "Jessica Smith".

Mother of god! Why would I put my book in Shigure's bookshelf? I hadn't even come up with a name for that book yet! I quickly ran over to them and snatched the book away.

"You can't just read people's writings without permission, ya know! No one was supposed to read it!" I frantically shouted while waving my hands in the air.

"If you didn't want anyone to read it, then why'd you write it? More importantly, why'd you put it in _my_ bookshelf?" asked Shigure.

I didn't know how to answer those questions. Why _did_ I write it if I didn't want someone to read it? And why would I put it there, of all places? I'm begging to question my own logic.

Out of embarrassment and confusion I ran out of the house. I just don't know what to do right now! Why am I acting like such a brat? What's wrong with me? I'm so useless! I can't even answer my own questions.

**_scene break: later that day: 3rd person POV_**

It's been a while since anyone's heard from Jessica. Kyo was starting to worry. Tohru and Yuki had plan on walking to the store, hoping to bump into Jessica.

"Let's take a shortcut, past the old park. I hear that's where Jessi likes to go a lot," suggested Yuki.

Tohru, being her clumsy self, suddenly slipped on a few acorns. She tumbled onto Yuki, causing a purple fog to surround them. When she looked down, an irritated rat looked up at her.

"I'm so sorry Yuki!" Tohru exclaimed.

"It's okay Miss Honda," Yuki mumbled, even though it was obviously **_not_** okay.

Tohru put him in her coat pocket to keep him warm. The weather had been awfully chilly lately and she didn't want him to catch a cold. They strolled down the path near the old park, ignoring the awkward silence Tohru had created.

**_scene break: 1st person POV_**

I sat in my little red swing and daydreamed. I feel like such an idiot. In fact, I _am_ an idiot. When I wrote that story, maybe I was reaching out subconsciously. One of my friends back home had this conversation about this kind of stuff once.

**_flashback_**

"Ugh, I wish Macy would stop holding onto me! She always does this and I don't know why. Maybe it's because she's from a different country and this is normal over there. I keep trying to tell her to stop, but she never listens!" I complained

"When people hold onto others, they're seeking comfort; they feel lost. They might not even realize that they feel this way. It's subconscious," Stacy replied.

**_end of flashback_**

If physically reaching out to people is a subconscious thing, maybe what I'm doing is the exact same. Now that I've come to a logical answer, I don't feel like such an idiot. I look around for a while, and realize I'm kind of bored. I don't want to go back just yet though. What am I supposed to do now? Just then, an old man walked up to me. "Young lady would you like this guitar?" he asked.

"How much is it?" I asked.

"I'll give it to you for free. You look like you've been having an off day, so take this and feel better. I want you to be happy," he replied. He handed me the guitar and walked off before I could reply. What a nice man.

An idea pops in my head. I could sing. And maybe…. Just maybe, I'm hoping someone will come along and hear me.

**_We're not gonna be just a part of their game_** **_We're not gonna be just the victims_** **_They're taking our dreams and they tear them apart_**

**_Till everyone's the same_** **_I've got no place to go_** **_I've got nowhere to run_**

**_They want to watch me fall They think they know it all I'm a nightmare, a disaster_**

**_That's what they'd always say I'm a lost cause, not a hero But I'll make it on my own I've gotta prove them wrong Me against the world Its me against the world We won't let them change how we feel in our hearts We're not gonna let them control us We won't let them shove all the thoughts in our heads And we'll never be like them_**

Just then I heard someone clapping. I looked over to my right and saw Tohru standing on the sidewalk. Tohru had seen me sing and play the guitar the man gave me. I feel really embarrassed, but at the same time happy. I guess when I put my book on that shelf, I really _was_ reaching out.

"Oh Jessi, you sing so well! Do you want to be a singer when you get older?" Tohru asked.

"Well… I don't know. I don't think I can do that. I remember when I was little, I wanted to sing, act, and even write…. But that was just a dream of mine. It's stupid," I replied.

Tohru sat in the swing next to me. "It's not stupid. I think your dream is a nice one. It's going to be hard to accomplish though. And you definitely won't be able to achieve it if you keep thinking like that," Tohru comforted.

I thought for a moment, remembering the old bat's words. I casually repeated, "'People who talk like that are just foolish. You'll never be good enough. No matter how hard you try, you'll never achieve your dreams. Dreams are for the weak,'" I let my words sink in for a moment and added, "That's what someone told me once. She's right, it's pointless."

We stayed quiet for a moment, letting the silence become awkward as the wind blew past us. I kicked at the dirt, wondering if she would ever reply.

"That person must have gone through a lot in their life," she replied.

I looked over at her in shock. What? That old lady looked very happy when she was yelling at me. How could such a happy person go through a lot in her life? I find it hard to believe.

"I don't understand. Explain," I politely demanded.

"Err…. Well, that person must have really hurt you when they told you this, right? It's probably because they didn't achieve their goals. Now they're miserable and putting all that on you," she replied. She paused for a moment. "Dreams aren't for the weak. They make people stronger. If someone has a goal, they'll do anything to get there. It's really amazing Jessi…. I hope the day comes, when you can get over that traumatizing situation. Please don't ever give up on your dream," she added.

Leave it to Tohru to save the day. So much for me being the hero. But I guess it's okay to be saved this once. I'm glad I had this talk with Tohru. I think that if I work a little bit harder, I'll be more confident in the things I do. I might actually….no I **will** achieve my goal in life!

A thick purple fog appeared out of nowhere suddenly! I looked over to Tohru who looked terribly flustered as she stared at something. I followed her gaze and saw Yuki trying to find his clothes…. GAH!

**_scene break: back home_**

"I'm so sorry you had to carry me home Tohru!" I cried.

"It's okay Jessi. It was no problem!" she said cheerfully.

After I saw Yuki half-naked I passed out. I'm so lame! T︵T

"Ah Jessi, so you finally decided to return…. What's that on your back?" Shigure asked as he pointed to my guitar.

"A man gave it to me for free while I was sitting in the park. He said he wanted me to have it because it looked like I was having an 'off day'. He told me to be….. Happy," I replied.

"How strange… anyways, after reading you book, I was wondering if you could help me a little on _my_book. This manager of mine keeps bothering me about it," he laughed.

A real author…. Wants _my_ help… On _their_ book?! I guess I really _can_ write good stories just like Casey said!

"YES!" I quickly replied.

I spent the rest of the day helping Shigure and it made the day pass by really fast.

**Thanks for reading chapter 9 of Falling into Fruits Baskets! I'd like to say thanks to the people who have favorited this story, followed this story, reviewed this story, and my friend Elena who encourages me to keep writing this story (P.s. tell your sis she's in this chapter!). most of all, i'd like to thank Kaoru97 for editing my story! **

**one of my favorite authors wrote on her profile that people won't review if i'm begging in a non-funny way, so im not going to beg anymore. i'm just going to ask polietly:**

**Me: Hey, you! kid with the green shirt on... *points to random kid***

**random kid: *ignore*~**

**Me: *walks over to random kid and grabs him by the shirt then starts shaking him* REVIEW MY STORY GOSH DARNITT!**

**random kid: What story? Who _ARE_ you?!**

** Yes, that was me... being poliet.**


	10. How to handle a Loveless girl

**Me: Hello readers (if there are still any readers left, that is…) anyways I know it's been a really long time since I've posted a chapter and I would like to apologize. I don't really have any good excuses except that I really like to procrastinate, but that's not a good excuse. **

**Casey: Took you long enough….**

**Me: ….. You're not gonna yell at me?**

**Casey: nope…. Oh but, Let me just tell the readers this: Kimiko does NOT own Fruits Basket! I just wanted to say that because I love reminding her how she doesn't really own it, even though she likes to act like she does sometimes!**

**Me: LIES! FROM THE DEVIL!**

Unfortunately, winter break is over, and the third term is started at school. Words cannot express how depressed I am to be going back to that place of "learning". While my grades are pretty average (A's and B's), there's always one class I pretty much fail in…. Math. Let me tell you this: Never, in my entire life, will I care about how many chocolate bars Jimmy bought. And if the answer is 20 (it was) then Jimmy has diabetes. Who cares how much money he has left over? That boy needs a doctor, _STAT!_

A sudden shout from a pair of idiots interrupted my thoughts…. Not that I was thinking about anything important, just school and chocolate bars... mainly chocolate bars.

"Wipe that smug little smirk off your face before I come over there and do it for ya. Yeah, you'll be sorry then wontcha? Then I'll make you say it," Kyo said, sounding like he had a Brooklyn accent.

"I'm sorry," Yuki smugly replied.

"SHUT UP! You're a real wise guy, ya know that?!" Kyo hissed as his orange tail and cat ears frizzed.

"At least I'm not the idiot who's causing a scene for everyone to see," Yuki smirked.

"All right girly-boy, we're taking this outside!" Kyo said while rolling up his sleeves.

"We are outside, you stupid cat," Yuki pointed out.

"Yep, that's Jessi's Boyfriend: a real dimwit. Poor Jess," Casey sympathized.

I gave a tired sigh, "My boyfriend's such an idiot."

I tried to hold in a laugh as I watched Kyo argue with Yuki. He IS in fact an idiot, but he's a cute idiot!

"See? Even Jessi-chan thinks you're an idiot," laughed Yuki.

Tohru finally walked out of the store. "Did you find everything you need Ms. Honda?" asked Yuki.

Tohru gave a slight nod as Kyo glared fiercely at Yuki.

…**.. **

As we started down the path towards home, we split off into groups: Kyo and Yuki in front, Tohru in the middle, and Casey and I in the back.

I looked towards Casey with a huge grin. She gave me a worried look.

"I don't like that smile you've got going on over there…. Just what are you planning?" she asked.

"Don't you remember this scene?" I asked.

"Nope," she replied.

"Well, you should. It's the episode with your absolute FAV character!" I laughed.

Casey's face turned a slight shade of pink. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," she sighed.

"Come on Casey! Hatsuharu will be here tomorrow! This is your chance to be with Haru!" I laughed.

I LOVE it when my friends have crushes! I especially like when they come to ME for advice. I just love the idea of love. I'd like to think that's the only girly thing about me.

The idea of love just gets me so excited. I mean, how can you not love, love? Spending your time with someone who will always be there no matter what, loving you and caring about you; it's so awesome! I really hope she can come to be honest with her feelings and admit she DOES believe in love, but ever since that day….. She's never been the same. I won't let my best friend keep lying to herself, saying that she doesn't believe in love. I'll save her! After all, that's my job as her best friend and as the heroine.

"Jess... I told you, I don't believe in love anymore. I mean, how could there possibly be someone out there that I would spend the rest of my life with? It's an unrealistic idea. It's like Santa Clause, The Eater Bunny, The Tooth Fairy… Shall I go on?" Casey said.

"Casey…" I sighed.

"Just forget about it, okay? And that means, when we meet Haru, don't pull any tricks!" Casey pestered.

Even though Casey said that, I still don't believe her. How can someone not believe in love? I mean, if she doesn't believe in love, then how is she able to love her family? How is she able to love me? (NH) It makes me sad to think that Casey doesn't believe in love. Casey's my friend and I love her (in a friend way) and I would hope she feels the same.

"You're too close! Why do you have to walk so close to me when I'm all the way over here?" yelled Kyo.

"Shut up you stupid cat,"

"Say that aga-" I quickly shoved a piece of bread in Kyo's mouth.

"Whahmmh yhoodo dsat fa?" he asked. **(A/N: "what'd you do that for?")**

"You were giving me a headache with all your yelling. You know, you two bicker like an old married couple!" I laughed and wrapped an arm around Kyos'. As we walked arm-in-arm, I leaned my head against his arm, (**A/N: This does not count as hugging, so he won't turn into a cat)** like normal couples do. Ha! Let's see him try and say that I don't flirt like other couples do! **(A/N: chapter 7 reference) **

**_Scene break: back home_**

"I'm out of the tub. Yuki, are you going next?" Shigure asked as he dried his hair with a towel.

"I think I'll skip tonight's bath," he sighed.

"UGGGGHHHHH! How can you stand to be so-so….DIRTY?!" Shigure exaggerated.

"Are you feeling okay, Yuki?" I asked. For a while, I've noticed his face looked a little flushed and his breathing increased in short breaths. So either he's sick, or he's a pervert. Most likely he's sick though.

"Actually, I think I'm coming down with a cold," he replied.

That sent Tohru into panic mode… oh brother!

"Ehhhhh! A cold!?" she shouted frantically.

I felt Yuki's forehead to see if he was running a fever.

"He's a little warm, but it doesn't look too serious," I reassured Tohru.

"Well, it's best to treat these things early. Take some medicine; get some rest, all that good stuff. I think I have just the thing here," Shigure sighed as he looked through some drawers.

"I think you should stay home from school tomorrow," Tohru said.

"No, I'm alright. It won't have to come to that," Yuki replied.

"I'm not going to force you to stay home, but if something happens tomorrow, you'll only have yourself to blame. And I know you don't want to, but you should probably go take a hot bath and then go to sleep," I lectured.

"Since when did you turn into a nurse?" Casey laughed.

I shrugged in response. I was only telling him the basic facts.

"Are you sure you want to go to school tomorrow? We have the endurance run," Tohru informed.

"UGHHHHH, don't remind me about that! What I wouldn't give to skip tomorrow… I absolutely HATE running! I refuse to wear the uniforms for gym. It's like wearing underwear in front of girls AND boys! And on top of that…..well…" I rambled.

"Boing!" Casey imitated Taiga aisaka from Toradora, "It's funny because not even a sports bra can help you! You're the only one who ever worries about that."

I sigh and begin wishing I was flat-chested. I bet it's MUCH easier to run and not be self-conscious that everyone might stare at you. I bet you could fit in to even cuter clothes then .

Then again, I'm sure flat-chested girls wish they weren't flat-chested. Everyone these days wants to be something they're not.

The door suddenly flung open. "Ah, the endurance run: a timed period that you have to beat. So basically… it's a race! Just you wait you stupid rat- I'll beat you for sure this time!" Kyo ranted.

"Kyo, you can't honestly be planning on making him race while he's sick, do you?" I asked.

"I know you want to beat him, but I never thought you would stoop so low. It's shameful," Casey teased.

"I-I-I wasn't…. I mean… I wasn't planning on racing him if he was sick. You guys just need to make sure he's healthy by tomorrow, because he isn't getting out of this easily!" Kyo retorted.

"Even if I am sick, I'll still beat you, stupid cat," Yuki laughed.

"Say that again, you dirty rat!" Kyo hissed.

"Honestly, what's with boys?" I whispered to Casey.

"They're all idiots," Casey replied. We couldn't help but laugh a little. I guess we laughed a little too loud, because Yuki and Kyo had stopped arguing and were staring at us. They gave us questioning looks, as if saying, "Why are you laughing?"

Casey waved her hand in front of her face to reply, "Nothing."

My mind wonders back to the endurance run. Maybe I could just stay with Hana-chan and play cards with the rest of the athletic-impaired.

**_Scene break: The endurance run_**

"Alright Kiddos, get off your butts and get to moving! This race will count for 35% of your grade in my class. So, stop whining and run!" The coach yelled before he blew his whistle. If he thinks it's so easy, maybe he should run it, too. It could do him some good!

I started off in a slow jog…. So basically, I was just walking. I wasn't the only one though. Hana-chan and a few of my athletically-challenged classmates stayed behind too. Kyo and Yuki haven't started running yet either- which strikes me as odd.

"What's wrong?" Kyo and Yuki asked in unison, pointing to my shirt.

Ever since we put this ridiculous outfit on, I've been pulling my shirt down. If I pull it down in the front, it goes up in the back; if I pull it down in the back, it goes up in the front. I just can't get a break. I'm not into the whole "showing skin above the knees" thing. On top of that, it's freezing out here. How can they make us wear such a tiny piece of clothing on a day like this? Do they _**want**___us to get sick? I wouldn't put it past those evil slave-drivers that call themselves "teachers". HA! Teachers my butt; teachers are supposed to teach us useful things that will shape our future. All I see in my future so far is a cold.

"Uh…. Well, I'm not used to wearing this uniform, so….," I replied awkwardly, "You guys go on ahead and finish the race."

"Oh…. Okay," replied Kyo, "Alright you dirty rat, I'm going to beat you in this race."

"Think again, you stupid cat!" Yuki laughed as they ran towards their goal.

I let out a sigh of relief, thankful they weren't here to see me in this idiotic ensemble a moment longer.

As I continued walking, I began to daydream and walking around aimlessly with no sense of direction, causing me to occasionally bump into people… but I paid no mind to them.

"Spacing out, yet again? You're such an air-head," Casey laughed, "Come on dude; don't make me walk the whole time. Run with me; being last isn't cool at all."

I shook my head in response. Too bad Casey doesn't take no for an answer. She pushed me from behind, forcing me to quicken my pace. I'm not good at going up against Casey, so I gave up and ran with her.

I still can't help but feel that people are staring at me. I'm sure I'm just being paranoid as usual, but I'm still nervous. As we ran a bit longer, we spotted Tohru just as she ran down the hill.

"Remember our conversation Jessi. Don't try anything, got it?" she frowned.

"Right, whatever," I pouted as she rolled her eyes in response.

"Oh, and you know you could have just asked for a pair of pants right?" She laughed.

"I could've WHAT NOW? Are you kidding me? So I've been running around in this outfit for nothing? I can't believe what I'm hearing…." I cried humorously.

We slid down the hill to find Tohru chatting with Haru.

"I'm sorry! Your hair is just so white; I thought an old man had fallen down the hill. I-I mean not that you look like an old man…." Tohru rambled her apologies.

"Have you ever heard of a place called Sohma house?" he interrupted her.

"Yeah, we all live there," Casey said, making our presence known.

"So by any chance are you a Sohma, too?" Tohru asked even though the answer was obvious…. Well, at least to us it was.

He nodded in reply, while off in the distance you could hear someone running. Haru stood and walked towards the railing by the road and tied a rope to it.

"He's coming," he said to himself.

As Kyo finally ran in front of Yuki, Haru pulled the rope and tripped Kyo.

"Got him," Haru announced satisfied.

Casey, Tohru and I ran over to Kyo, as he lay face down into the ground. "Kyo, are you okay?" asked Tohru, but he didn't respond.

"Let's poke him with a stick!" Exclaimed Casey as she grabbed a stick on the side of the road. She violently jabbed him in the ribs until he jumped up in the air.

"OUCH! What the heck was that for?" Kyo screamed as Casey shrugged in reply. "Dammit! What the hell did you do that for? I was winning and everything!"

"If I hadn't tripped you, you wouldn't have stopped, now would you, Kyo?" Haru replied as if what he'd done was totally justified.

"Haru?" Kyo asked, finally realizing the person who'd tripped him was none other than, his cousin, Hatsuharu Sohma.

"By the way," Haru said facing the other direction, "what I just did was very dangerous, and if that had been anyone other than Kyo, they would probably been hurt very badly… So _**don't**_ do this at home kids!"

"He's so cool!" Casey and I squealed in unison. Casey realized what she had said, so she coughed and rolled her eyes, as if it never happened.

"What the- hey, Jessi! You're not supposed to say that about the guy who tripped your boyfriend!" Kyo said stomping his feet as if he were a kid.

I smiled apologetically.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" Yuki asked.

"Yeah… W-well, actually I left on Sunday with the intention of coming here, but then I was swept away into the heart of the dark urban wilderness that took me three days to find a way out," Haru replied.

"Why can't you just be normal and say you got lost?" asked Yuki.

"What a terrible sense of direction," I sighed.

"B-but if you're gonna get lost, that's a pretty impressive way to do it!" Tohru exclaimed and I nodded in agreement.

"Oh yeah? Well that means he hasn't had a bath in three days. Don't you think that's gross, Jessi?" asked Kyo clearly aggravated by my earlier comment about Haru being cool.

I thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. I mean, there have been plenty of times that I hadn't bathed for a week because it was summer and I was just too lazy. So I guess I'm even grosser than Haru… that's a little disturbing, seeing as he _**is**_ a boy.

"I should probably introduce everyone. Haru, this is Jessica Smith, Kyo's girlfriend, Casey Jones, Jessi's best friend, and Tohru Honda, a classmate of ours. They live with us as well," he said motioning towards us.

"Well then, Ms. Jones, it's a pleasure to meet you," he bowed politely to Casey, "Oh, and it's nice to meet you too, Ms. Smith and Ms. Honda."

"Yes! It's already off to a great start!" I whispered to myself.

Kyo raised an eyebrow at me. "What did you say?" asked Kyo. He seemed to be growing angrier and angrier by the minute. And I guess Casey realized what I'd said because she rolled her eyes and turned away. I think if she keeps rolling her eyes, they're going to get stuck in the back of her head!

I laughed it off, "Oh nothing!"

"Tch…," Kyo faced Haru, "So what did you come here for anyways?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"I was planning to challenge you at the New Year's Banquet, but you decided to skip. So, I've come to you. I want to fight you, Kyo. Now let's do it!" Haru demanded as he grabbed hold on Kyo's shirt.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm in the middle of a race you idiot!" Kyo replied grumpily.

"I've already wasted three whole days looking for you!" Haru pleaded.

"That's your own damn fault," Kyo hissed.

"Enough talking! FIGHT ME!" Haru yelled as he punched Kyo in the face.

Kyo felled to the ground but quickly recovered.

"You make me sick, you and your pathetic girly whining," he mumbled and then laughed, "Heh, you're not a man, you're a kitty cat who's too scared to fight me!" he gave Kyo a thumbs down as if saying, "You couldn't beat me anyways."

"I bet your girlfriend thinks you're pretty pathetic right now!" Haru laughed.

"You little punk!" Kyo shouted as he suddenly sprung up and kicked Haru square in the jaw.

"That idiot, he just had to go and bring out Black Haru," Yuki said aloud.

"Black Haru is pretty cool too! Right Casey?" I exclaimed.

"Whatever," Casey replied. This girl is seriously starting to get on my nerves. How am I supposed to be a good friend by forcing her to believe in love when she acts like that?

I can't stop thinking about how perfect he is for Casey! He has a super cool side and a side that's kind of odd, but strangely cool in its own way. Perfect… Perfect… PERFECT! There are the PERFECT match! Now if only I could get Casey go admit there is such a thing as love…

"What?! Jessi, how can you possibly still think he's cool when he's being Black Haru?" Kyo whined as he punched Haru in the gut.

"I don't know. It's just that…." I began explaining but decided not to finish when Haru finally landed another punch in Kyo's face.

"Focus on our fight!" Haru demanded.

"You know, when you turn black, you're a real bastard!" Kyo replied.

"Oh yeah? Just for that, when I'm done beating you, I'm gonna take your little girlfriend and her friend," Haru threatened. OMG! OMG! OMG! He just said he was gonna take Casey! Yes! If he's forceful enough, she may just fall for him.

"What? You're gonna do what?!" Kyo shouted.

"Oh you know, I'm gonna do a little bit of this and I'm definitely gonna do that," Haru laughed.

"You're sick! Only I can do this and that with Jessi!" Kyo yelled.

"What the heck is he talking about?" I asked.

"I think he's trying to show off. Don't worry we all know you would never do this or that with Kyo. You're way too innocent to do that. I mean, you blush about the most childish things like holding hands or just a little kiss," Casey laughed.

My face grew warm. "S-shut up! And what do you guys mean by…. _**"This"**_ and _**"that'**_?" I asked.

"Awww look you even blush when people just talk about it," Casey laughed so hard she fell to the ground and started rolling over.

"Sorry for interrupting, but this will probably take a while so you three should head back," Yuki said coughing.

"Nah, we want to watch the fight. Even though it _**sounded**_like I thought Haru was going to win, I actually think Kyo will win," I replied. I already knew for a fact that Kyo was stronger than Haru.

"You're nothing compared to my fights with Yuki! You're as slow as a turtle," Kyo boasted.

"Oh yeah, then what does that make you? You haven't been able to beat Yuki even once! That makes you worse than a turtle. You're a snail- an ameba!" Haru laughed.

For a moment, Kyo stood still. "Don't you think I know that?" he said under his breath, "But…. I definitely won't lose to you!" Kyo ran towards him, sucker punching Haru so hard, he fell.

"If you ask me, I think they're just a couple of fighting fools," Yuki said, "They've been studying martial arts since they were *cough cough*…. Since…. They were….," Yuki suddenly collapsed, sending Tohru on edge once again.

"Yuki!" Tohru shouted, "Are you okay?"

The boys stopped fighting and rushed over to us, Yuki still coughing.

"Is it an asthma attack?" Haru asked, feeling Yuki's forehead, "And you have a fever too. You know you're not supposed to over-do-it when you're sick." Haru wrapped his Jacket around Yuki. "Maybe we should call an ambulance," he suggested.

"And risk him changing in front of everyone? If people see an ambulance coming, they'll crowd us. If he doesn't change in front of a crowd, he might when we get in the van. We need to think of another way to get him home," I argued.

"Wait, maybe there _**is**_ something we can do," he said pushing Casey against the wall, "It's lucky for me you're pretty cute. I mean, if I'm gonna do it, it should be with someone cute, right?" Suddenly, Haru hugged Casey and a bomb of smoke surrounded us.

"You should hold on to the back of my neck so I don't suddenly change back. It'll be easier on Yuki if we carry him like this," He said.

"Oh yeah, 'cause that'll totally look normal for a bunch of kids to be walking with a cow… in the city!" Kyo laughed.

**_Scene Break: Home_**

"So, you came all the way looking like that, did you?" Shigure said as he tried his best to hold back his laughter.

"It's not funny!" Kyo replied clearly annoyed by the fact that he still didn't get to finish the endurance run.

Haru carried Yuki to his bedroom where Shigure tended to him.

"It looks like it was just a mild attack. He still has a slight fever, but he'll be alright," Shigure said, reassuring Tohru he would be fine.

"Oh thank goodness!" Tohru cried.

"Haru, would you be a dear and call Hitori while I go pick up everyone's things from school?" Shigure asked.

Just then, Haru transformed back into his human form. "Alright I'll call him right now," Haru replied.

"Put some clothes on first, there's girls in the house you idiot!" Kyo yelled.

…**. 3****rd**** person POV**

"Yes sir, I understand… Right," Haru spoke into the phone in a meek voice.

"So what'd he say?" Kyo asked.

"Well, he sounded mad at me for some reason…. strange, huh?" Haru replied.

"That's what happens when you disappear for three days. So what now? We've got that damn rat taken care of… you wanna finish our fight?" Kyo asked.

"…..Mmmmmmm…No," Haru replied.

"What the heck?!" Kyo shouted.

"You're stronger than me. I admit defeat," he said.

Jessi and Tohru walked into the room just as Kyo put a headlock on Haru.

"Um, are we interrupting?" Jessi laughed.

"So, are you white Haru now?" Tohru asked and Haru nodded in reply.

"How's Yuki?" Haru asked liked a concerned little brother.

"He's fine. No need to worry about him. He's still sleeping though," Jessi replied.

"Don't attack him while he's passed out Kyo!" Haru said.

"SHUT UP! What good would it do to pull a cheap trick like that? The day I knock that damn Yuki on his butt will be fair and square!" Kyo hissed, "Whatever! I'm going back to school!"

Jessi grabbed hold of his sleeve before he could storm out of the house.

"Wait, you're not just going to leave me here are you?" Jessi asked.

Kyo's cheeks became tinted with pink blush. "Well, I, um….. I guess not," he replied.

"Good because I have to talk to you. Come with me," Jessi demanded as she pulled him outside.

"Oh my god, this is about what I said during my fight with Haru isn't it?" he thought to himself, "I didn't really mean that I did _**this**_ and _**that**_ with her…. Heck, I don't even know what he meant by "_**this**_" and "_**that**_"! I was just trying to sound cool. Oh man, she's going to kill me!"

"Kyo…. What would you do if someone you cared about told you they didn't believe in love?" Jessi asked.

Kyo thought for a moment and prayed Jessi wasn't talking about herself.

"Well, it depends on the reason why," Kyo responded.

"Well let's say there's this girl who you care about. This girl, she says she doesn't believe in love because her last relationship ended terribly. Let's say that her last relationship was one she thought would last forever. They dated for about a year. She really loved the guy, and she thought he loved her too. Then one day, she suddenly caught him cheating with one of her closest friends **(A/N: Not with Jessi).** After that she stopped believing in love and stopped being friends with everyone. If this girl was your friend, what would you say to her to make her believe again…. because I honestly have no idea what to do anymore!" Jessi cried as tears welled up in her eyes.

Kyo gently patted her back for a while so she could regain composure. "So, I take it we aren't talking about you then?" he asked and she shook her head in reply.

"Then…. I would tell "this girl" to get over it. I know it sounds harsh and all, but after some time, she should be able to move forward. I mean, how long does she plan to stay stuck in the past? What if the right guy comes along but all she can do is keep thinking about the guy who broke her heart, and who's probably not even worth her tears. I mean, why would she waste her time crying over a scumbag like that?" Kyo replied.

Jessi smiled and quickly gave Kyo a peck on the cheek. "W-what was that for?" Kyo blushed heavily.

"For giving me good advice," Jessi said as she back to the house. Without turning around though she said, "Oh, and Kyo?"

"Hm?"

"I was planning on hitting you for saying that you did this and that with me….. But I guess, as another part of your reward for giving me good advice, I won't kill you," she laughed.

"Do you even know what this and that means?" Kyo asked curiously.

"No…. no one would tell me either," Jessi replied.

"Neither do I…." Kyo admitted.

They both laughed as they walked back home.

Meanwhile, at high school…

Shigure skipped though the halls in joy. "High school girls! High school girls! High school girls for me~~!" he thought to himself.

**Alright, it took a long time to finish this. I had most of it done a couple of months ago but I kind of…well… forgot about it…. sorry. Anyways, please review. I can't guarantee that the next chapter will be here super soon because I'm not exactly over flowing with inspiration. Sorry I'm such a lousy writer**

**(/-_-)/ Feel free to yell at me.**


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